Stormfront
by June B Henson
Summary: A tom named Rising decides to follow his heritage back to the Clan cats. He travels from Twoleg place and is taken in by SwampClan. Will he succeed in his heritage as a Clan cat, and complete his destiny? Or will he fail to bring back IslandClan?
1. Clan Allegiances

Swampclan

Leader: Barkstar - Brown tabby (black) with green eyes

Deputy: Ivyleaf - Grey tabby (black) she-cat with green eyes

Medicine Cat: Echowhisper - Grey and white tabby (black) with a blue left eye and a green right eye

WARRIORS

Parchnose - Golden tabby (black) tom with grey eyes and black paws

Snowpelt - Tortishell she-cat with brown eyes and a white tail

Lightfur - Grey spotted tabby (black) she-cat with green eyes

Apprentice: Laurelpaw

Burrtail - Brown tom with black points and amber eyes

Squirrelfur - Orange tabby (dark orange) tom with brown eyes

Dusktail - Light brown spotted tabby (dark brown) tom with a white chest and paws. Blue eyes.

Apprentice: Jaypaw

Mouseclaw -Brown tabby (black) tom with grey eyes

Leafeye - Light brown she-cat with green eyes

APPRENTICES

Laurelpaw - Brown and light brown patched she-cat with grey eyes

Jaypaw - Golden tabby (grey) tom with black front paws and muzzle. White hind paws and tip of tail. Brown eyes.

QUEENS AND KITS

Dewtail - Dark grey she-cat with green eyes. Mother of Burrtail's kits

Crestkit -Grey she-cat with amber eyes and white paws

Streamkit - Dark grey she-cat with green eyes

Rowankit - Brown tom with green eyes and a black tail

ELDERS

Silentstep - Old brown tabby (black) she-cat with blue eyes

Stoneclan

Leader: Shalestar - Grey tom with blue eyes

Deputy: Blacktail - Small black and white patched she-cat with brown eyes

Medicine Cat: Duskstripe -White and grey patched tabby (black) tom with green eyes

Apprentice: Robinpaw

WARRIORS

Birdwing - Light grey she-cat with amber eyes

Apprentice: Branchpaw

Iceeye - Large white tabby (black) tom with light blue eyes

Apprentice: Thornpaw

Stripedpelt - Grey tabby (black) tom with light green eyes and a torn left ear

Apprentice: Amberpaw

Ashtree - Grey tom with green eyes

Apprentice: Hailpaw

Moonwater - Light grey tabby (black) she-cat with green eyes

Auroafur - Small white she-cat with grey eyes

Nightfire - Black she-cat with amber eyes

APPRENTICES

Robinpaw - Small brown she-cat with a sorrel chest, belly, and tail. Brown eyes

Branchpaw - Brown tabby (black) tom with black paws and amber eyes

Thornpaw - Brown tom with brown eyes

Amberpaw - Black she-cat with amber eyes

Hailpaw - Black and grey patched she-cat with blue eyes

QUEENS AND KITS

Suntail - Golden she-cat with amber eyes, mother of Ashtree's kits-

Snowkit - Grey she-cat with amber eyes

Sharpkit - Dark grey tom with green eyes

ELDERS

Eagleflight - Golden tabby (black) tom with blue eyes

Darkwater - Black tom with blue eyes, has lost sight in right eye

Driftblown - White tabby (black) tom with blue eyes

Shallowstream - Grey she-cat with blue eyes. Is missing half of her tail.

Forrestclan

Leader: Thicketstar - Brown spotted tabby (black) she-cat with brown eyes and spiky fur

Deputy: Pinetail - Light brown tabby (dark brown) tom with green eyes

Medicine Cat: Antclaw - Small black tom with a scarred muzzle and shoulder, brown eyes, previously a warrior

WARRIORS

Cedartail - Brown she-cat with blue eyes

Apprentice: Pricklepaw

Brightshine - Blue-grey tom with blue eyes and a scarred left leg

Tornwhisker - Orange tabby(dark orange) she-cat with blue eyes

Apprentice: Longpaw

Thistlepelt - Brown tabby (black) tom with green eyes and spiky fur

Apprentice: Shadowpaw

Fishstreak - Blue-grey she-cat with grey eyes

Apprentice: Acornpaw

Cloudfoot - Brown tom with white paws and brown eyes

Embertail - White and orange patched tabby (dark orange) she-cat with a orange striped tail and green eyes

APPRENTICES

Pricklepaw - Blue-grey tom with spiky fur and grey eyes

Longpaw - Grey tabby tom with green eyes and long black legs

Shadowpaw - Dark grey she-cat with blue eyes

Acornpaw - Small light brown tom with brown eyes

QUEENS AND KITS

Softbreeze - Tortishell she-cat with amber eyes, mother of Pinetail's ktis-

Foxkit - Brown tom with amber eyes

Patchkit - Tortishell she-cat with green eyes

Shadekit - Brown tabby (black) tom with amber eyes

ELDERS

Spikefur - Brown spotted tabby she-cat with brown eyes and spiky fur

Wintersky - Blue-grey tom with blue eyes

Greymist - Grey tabby she-cat with green eyes


	2. Prologue

A new moon hung low over the horizon. To the cats milling below, it seemed that the sliver of a white claw was pointing ominously towards them. A small tomcat slipped out of the camp, eager to escape the bustle of cats moving and mewling around him. A sharp wind picked up, causing the new warrior to fluff up his ginger and black fur with a shiver. Looking up to the sky, he saw clouds starting to blow over the moon, casting the narrow path he was walking down into darkness. Flattening his ears against his head, pupils dilated with fear, he raced through the undergrowth, trying his best to avoid the brambles that grew thickly in this part of the shore. He stumbled out onto a pebbly beach, bits of bramble clinging to his pelt. Dark waves roared, pounding into the beach. Whipping his head back and forth, the tom was able to spot the land bridge to the mainland. He raced towards it, pebbles clattering and cracking behind him. As he reached the end of the bridge, the sky was wrenched apart by a bright flash of lightning, followed by a roar of thunder. As the sound of the thunder echoed away, the ground lurched underneath the tom. With a frightened wail, he stumbled away, heading for the hills on their border. The ground heaved underneath his feet, sending him crashing into a small tree. Cracks split the ground below him, and scalding brown water bubbled up from deep in the earth. Yowling in terror, the tom pulled himself to his paws, and tore off towards the hills as a heavy rain started to fall. His back paws slipped as he started to climb the muddy hill, sending him tumbling back down the way he had come, and coating his ginger and black pelt with a sticky brown layer of mud. Unsheathing his claws, he dug them into the mud with each step up the hill. As he neared the top, a fierce wind tore at his fur and whipped his tail back and forth behind him. Narrowing his eyes, he was able to spot the rabbit warrens three fox-lengths ahead of him. Clawing his way up the slope, he slid under a rock, and shook himself, trying to rid himself of the excess water streaming off his fur. Settling down under the stone, the tom turned his head towards his island home, trying to see it through the rain. He quickly found the land bridge, and followed it down the cliffs, to where the island was resting, nestled safely between four towering stone pillars.

The tom was struck with a flash of sadness. He had been asleep in his nest, dreaming that he was hunting a fish in the tide pools, when a brown spotted tabby had emerged from the palms behind him, and told him that he must spend the night at the rabbit warrens, on the mainland. At first, the tom couldn't believe his eyes, there was Pebblestar, his leader who had died two moons ago. He had been visited by a Starclan cat. Pebblestar explained that it would be critical to his clan's survival that he spent the night there. Nodding his head, the ginger and black tom agreed. Pebblestar had leaped down to him, gave him a lick on his head, and the tom had woken up in his nest, and then started his frantic climb to the rabbit warrens. A bright flash startled the tom out of his thoughts. Lightning had struck the island, and already, the tom could see the flickering reds and oranges of fire in the trees. His paws were itching to run back to his clanmates, but he remembered the Starclan cat's warning. Sending a quick prayer to Starclan for his clanmates' safety, the tom moved as far back underneath the rock as he could, then settled down to sleep.

When he woke, he was lying on the pebble beach of his island, with Pebblestar crouching on a boulder beside him, eyes narrowed. With a flick of his tail, Pebblestar leaped down onto the beach, sending a few pebbles clattering away.

"I'm sorry that things had to turn out this way. If we could have changed your clan's fate, we would have done so. You are the only cat of Islandclan left-""What do you mean, the only survivor? Did the fire destroy the camp? But cats would have survived, right? So what makes it so that everyone died?" Turning, the tom started to run towards the camp, but was blocked by a wall of brambles. Letting out a furious hiss, he whirled around, intending to run the other way, but quickly slid to a stop in front of a ginger she-cat and a black tom.

"Darkstone! Crabclaw! Why are you here? You're dreaming like me, right? Please say you are!" the tom whimpered. Crabclaw wound herself around her son.

"There is nothing to fear. You must go on a great journey to preserve our clan, and make it strong once again." She whispered in his ear.

"But why me? What makes me so important? Why was I chosen when everybody else wasn't?"Darkstone gave him a lick on his head.

"Keep our memory alive through the generations. One day, Islandclan will have their home back, and will be a part of the five clans once again. That time is not now. Teach our ways where you go, and spread our word." Darkstone's blue eyes darkened, and then he hissed in his son's ear "Sunset marks the end of the day. Night marks an absence. Sunrise marks the beginning of a new era."

"What's that supposed to mean?" The tom wailed. The two Starclan warriors started to fade from sight. "Wait! Don't leave me!"He caught his parent's scent still on the breeze as a whisper reached his ears.

"We love you very much. Wherever you go, we will be watching over you and your descendants. Good luck and safe travels, Sunfall."Their scent was gone.

Sunfall woke up under the stone, with water lapping at his black forepaws. Splashing out of his makeshift den, Sunfall's eyes widened. All he could see was black water. Here and there, the tallest trees poked their spindly branches into the sky. Biting back a wail of terror, Sunfall looked towards where the land bridge was. A stretch of unbroken black water covered where the land bridge was. Looking at where the island had been, all he could see was the topmost part of the tallest tree.


	3. Chapter 1

A paw prodded Laurelpaw in her side, waking her from a dream. Groggily raising her head, she hissed,

"Why did you have to wake me up?"Flattening his ears, Jaypaw responded,

"You don't have to be so grumpy. I was already up, and I noticed Lightfur and the rest of the dawn patrol gathering, then Lightfur decided to come stalking over here, so I decided to wake you up."Lightfur pushed into the den, twigs scraping her broad shoulders. Seeing that Laurelpaw was awake, she told her to follow her out and start the dawn patrol.

"You're welcome." Jaypaw hissed quietly in Laurelpaw's ear as she passed him. Laurelpaw flicked her brown patched tail at him as she whisked out of the apprentice's den, racing into the clearing. Squinting in the harsh morning light, she was able to make out the blurred shapes of warriors until they swam into focus. Burrtail was weaving brambles into the nursery walls. Now that his kits had come, he spent the better part of his mornings reinforcing the nursery walls and the evenings playing with his kits. The dawn patrol consisted of Lightfur, Mouseclaw, Snowpelt, Squirrelfur, and herself. Ivyleaf had gathered Dusktail, Leafeye, and Parchnose around her, and was sorting out patrols for the rest of the day. Laurelpaw assumed that after her patrol, she would either be sent out hunting, or would be fetching fresh bedding for Silentstep.

As the patrol raced out of camp towards the Stoneclan border, she was struck by how small her clan was. There were so few warriors compared to Stoneclan and Forrestclan. The younger warriors had been helping out with apprentice chores for a while now, but after Dewtail had moved to the nursery, nobody had to worry about fetching prey and bedding for her. Burrtail had flat out refused any help caring for his mate and kits. Shaking her head, she tried to recall stories of the great sickness. It had killed many cats of Swampclan, leaving the Swampclan cats with few warriors and no kits or apprentices. Laurelpaw and Jaypaw had been the first kits born after the great sickness, though their littermates hadn't survived. Although from different parents, Laurelpaw and Jaypaw were as close as any littermates. Laurelpaw was startled out of her thoughts as she skidded to a stop, narrowly missing crashing into Lightfur's hind paws.

"What is it?" Laurelpaw asked Lightfur. Lightfur narrowed her eyes and flicked her ears towards a holly bush near the border between Stoneclan and Swampclan. Opening her mouth, Laurelpaw drew in the air, sorting through the rich scents of the swamp, the comforting odor of the Swamclan border marks, and the bitter tang of Stoneclan markers. Keeping her jaws open, she focused her attention on the scents coming from the holly bush. Prowling from the comforting foliage of the swamp with Lightfur at her side, they stalked up to the holly bush, recognizing the reek of Stoneclan coming from it, even though it was on the Swampclan side of the border. Ducking under the low branches, Laurelpaw dragged the remains of a finch towards her with a claw. Backing out into the open, she batted it towards Snowpelt, who was lurking at the edge of the swamp, attempting to blend in, even though her white tail and white patched fur made her stand out among the dark green and brown undergrowth. After bending down to sniff the finch quickly, she raised her head and hissed,

"Stoneclan. Shalestar should have better control over his warriors. They have plenty of territory to hunt on, so a lack of prey shouldn't be a problem. Some of their younger warriors must be looking for trouble again." Shaking her head, she told the patrol to re-mark the border.

Snowpelt tossed the remains of the finch in front of Barkstar. His green eyes burned with anger as he heard the story told by the patrol. Squirrelfur had started to hiss his idea about an attack plan when Echowhisper slunk up towards the finch. The anxious mewing of cats stopped as she stared at the finch with her odd-colored eyes. Snagging one of its tail feathers on her claw, and studied it closely. After a few moments, she laid it down on the packed earth of the camp.

"I am not sure of what Starclan is trying to tell me. On this feather, there are two very long black stripes coming from the bottom of the feather. There is also one short black stripe, and one short white stripe, with a grey band above them all." She mewed carefully.

"What does it mean?" Mouseclaw asked. Swiveling her head towards him, Echowhisper said,

"The length of the stripes coming from the bottom of the feather tells the size of a clan. The four stripes are clans, while the grey band is Starclan. I believe the black stripes represent the three clans, Swampclan, Forrestclan, and Stoneclan. However, this tiny notch of white on the feather tells me that there is a fourth, unknown clan. Because this finch was killed by Stoneclan, Stoneclan will bring about the end of this clan unless a cat will be able to stop them from whatever they are doing. Starclan has shown me no more about this other than this feather." She bowed her head as she finished. Raising her head, she looked at Barkstar. He bent his head in return and clutched one of the finch's wings gently in his teeth. Dragging it out of the tunnel, scraping sounds could be heard as he dug into the soft ground and buried the finch.

"Ivyleaf and Echowhisper please join me in my den. The rest of you, please continue on with your patrols and training." Barkstar turned and Ivyleaf and Echowhisper followed him into his den. Lightfur approached Laurelpaw with Dusktail and Jaypaw in tow.

"We'd like you and Jaypaw to gather moss for Silentstep, Barkstar, the warrior's den, and the apprentice's den. We'll help you by cleaning out all of the old moss, starting with Silentstep's den and ending with Barkstar's den. Gather as much moss as you can, and for Starclan's sake, please let it be dry!"Lightfur and Dusktail disappeared into the elder's den, while Laurelpaw shot a glance at Jaypaw.

"Come. We don't have all day, and we have to get moss for the whole camp. Let's go to the trees by the stream." With a nod expressing his agreement, Jaypaw and Laurelpaw tore off through the reed tunnel.

Once the two apprentices had reached the stream, they headed towards a few trees whose trunks were coated in thick layers of moss. Even stretching her claws out as far as she could; she was unable to touch the bark as she tore away pawfulls of the thick moss.

"Hey can you touch the bark yet?" Jaypaw asked Laurelpaw. With a shake of her head, Laurelpaw replied with a, "No, can you?" Before dropping into a crouch and leaping straight into Jaypaw. With a screech, Jaypaw toppled over, sending the moss that he had in his paws scattering everywhere. The two apprentices wrestled on the tree roots for a few moments, before falling into the stream with a huge splash. Their heads broke through the water, and they stared at each other for a few moments before starting to purr with amusement. Climbing out of the stream, they shook themselves thoroughly, spattering water onto the tree roots and moss. Gathering up the scattered moss, they pressed the water out of it, and gathered as much as they could carry and started back to camp.

It took three trips to bring back the moss to the camp. They had gathered enough moss to change all of the dens, with some left over to put into the medicine cat's extra moss pile. Leafeye watched her daughter with a bemused expression on her face as Laurelpaw walked the camp carrying the final bundle of moss to the medicine cat's den. Large clumps of Laurelpaw's brown fur were sticking straight into the air. Jaypaw's golden fur was no different, and he got a few stares as he padded through camp.

Once they had stored the moss carefully away in the medicine cat's den, under the watchful eyes of Echowhisper, Lightfur and Dusktail approached them.

"We're going hunting now. Silentstep has been fancying a lizard this whole afternoon, and I haven't heard the end of it. Your task is for each of you to catch one lizard, and any other prey that you can find. It's still Greenleaf now, however, leaf-fall will be coming soon, and it's a good idea for you to practice your hunting as much as you can before leaf-bare comes."We'll take you to the edge of the moors. You should be able to find a few lizards basking on the stones near the Stoneclan border. After that, you can hunt whatever prey you want. Let's go." Dusktail turned, and lead them out of camp.

When the apprentices and their mentors reached the Stoneclan border, they reviewed the hunting move for lizards.

"After you settle yourself on a stone above and behind a crack where you know a lizard is, you have to wait very patiently and still. Once a lizard comes out, wait until it's not looking up, then land just behind it. Most of the time, it will start to run back to the crack, unless another crack is closer by. The trick is to catch it before it can get very far away from the crack." Beckoning to Lightfur, Dusktail took a place further above the hill from her.

"Lightfur will be the lizard, and I'll be the hunter." Lightfur stood, glaring at him with emerald eyes. Dusktail had settled into a crouch, and waited patiently until Lightfur turned her head away with a twitch of her tail tip.

"Another thing to keep in mind is that if you can scoop the lizard up into the air, then it can't run away." Waggling his hindquarters, Dusktail pounced, and landed with his forepaws almost touching Lightfur's hind paws.

"Give it a try. Practice it a few times on your own, and when you feel that you're ready, ask Lightfur or me to be the lizard." Laurelpaw turned away from him, and moved a little further down the hill. Spotting a smooth pebble a fox-length further down the hill, Laurelpaw crouched down. Narrowing her eyes, she leaped, and overshot the pebble by a tail-length. Tail flicking with annoyance, Laurelpaw walked back up the hill, and then tried again. This time she landed behind the pebble, but too far away to scoop it up easily. Stalking back up the hill again, she leaped, and landed just behind the pebble. She flicked a paw and the pebble arched into the air, but to her dismay, it landed a fox-length away from her. With a sigh, she crouched again, and leaped.

Eventually, she got the hang of it, now knowing to flick the pebble up instead of out, and could have it land right between her paws, which gave her room to catch the lizard in her mouth. Not wanting to try to catch the stone in her mouth, Laurelpaw started to look around for Jaypaw, Dusktail, and Lightfur. The golden-brown moor grasses made it almost impossible to spot Dusktail and Jaypaw with her sight, so she opened her mouth to taste the air. She caught a faint whiff of Jaypaw's and Dusktail's scent further up the hill, so she started to follow it. A few tail-lengths ahead, the grasses twitched, and Jaypaw leaped out of them, landing right in front of Laurelpaw, so close that their whiskers brushed. With a squeal of alarm, Laurel reared backwards, twisted her hind paws and body so they were facing the opposite way, she tore off down the hill, only to find that Jaypaw was chasing after her. Sliding to a stop, she spun around, and reared up on two paws to face Jaypaw. His brown eyes widened, realizing what she was trying to do, and tried to slide to a stop, but it was too late. Laurelpaw fell on top of Jaypaw, causing his legs to buckle and collapse in a squirming heap under Laurelpaw.

"Hey! No fair!" Jaypaw squeaked.

"It wasn't fair for you to jump out at me from those grasses, but you did that, so this is fair!" Laurelpaw mewed back. She stood up, shaking a few stray grasses from her pelt, she saw Lightfur at the top of the hill, her grey and black pelt contrasting the blue sky behind her. Flicking her tail so it caught Jaypaw's ear, she pointed out her mentor to him. Thanking Starclan for their brown and golden colored pelts, they slowly started to stalk up to Laurelpaw's mentor. Keeping low to the ground, Jaypaw beckoned to Laurelpaw, and then split away from her, creeping around the other side of Lightfur. Laurelpaw snuck up behind her, and when she could tell that Jaypaw was to one side, she let out a screech and leapt onto Lightfur's shoulders. Jaypaw tore out from the grass to her left, and barreled into Lightfur's side. She stumbled slightly, but did not fall over. Jaypaw clapped his paws onto one of Lightfur's hind legs, which buckled, sending Lightfur and Laurelpaw tumbling onto Jaypaw. Squirming, Laurelpaw tried to get up, but all she could see was grey and black fur.

"You realize that you were upwind of me, don't you?" Her mew cut through Laurelpaw's struggle. Lightfur stood up, and Laurelpaw felt her pelt burn with embarrassment. She should have thought of that! Lightfur gave her an affectionate flick with her tail.

"It's ok, every apprentice that I know of, including myself, has made that mistake. Try to keep that in mind while we're hunting. Come, Jaypaw and Laurelpaw. Let's go catch some lizards."


	4. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

The day hunting at the stone piles had been successful. Both Laurelpaw and Jaypaw had caught a lizard, in addition to Jaypaw had catching a water vole and a mouse by the stream, while Laurelpaw had managed to catch a small rabbit. They dragged their catch to the fresh-kill pile, and dropped the vole, mouse, rabbit, and a lizard on top of it, before taking the remaining lizard to Silentstep. As they entered the elder's den, Silentstep raised her head, blue eyes flashing in the dim light.

"You brought me my lizard. Good job, the two of you. I'll eat it later though, with my new denmates." Silentstep said with a flick of her ears.

"Your new denmates?" Jaypaw asked, "Wait...Do you mean?" He spun around and shouldered his way out of the den. Laurelpaw looked down at Silentstep.

"His parents are becoming elders, right?" Silentstep nodded.

"They've seen so much pain and suffering in their lifetimes. All of their kits died, either killed in battles or by illness. Snowpelt had three litters you know. The first litter was Halfkit, and Hawkstorm. Halfkit died very early, leaving Hawkstorm without his brother. Later, she had Fawnpelt, Dappledstone, and Frecklepaw. Frecklepaw was killed by Forrestclan, while Fawnpelt and Dappledstone were killed by the great sickness. I always enjoyed those two she-cats. I even mentored Frecklepaw before he died. It's been far past the time when they would become elders; I think they wanted to see their last kit become a warrior before retiring, but they can't hold on like this anymore." Laurelpaw gave a sympathetic nod. She could understand. Both of her brothers and her sister had died when they were kits. She was the only one to survive. Barkstar's yowl echoed around the clearing, summoning the cats from their dens. Parchnose and Snowpelt were sitting in the center of a ring of cats. Barkstar was on highbranch, looking down at the warriors gathered below. Laurelpaw hurried over to Jaypaw, where he sat, head bent. He didn't acknowledge her as she stroked her tail over his back.

"Parchnose and Snowpelt, is it your wish to give up the name of a warrior and go join the elders?"Barkstar asked.

"It is" Parchnose mewed, and Snowpelt echoed her mate.

"Your clan honors you and all the service you have given us. I call upon Starclan to give you many seasons of rest."Barkstar mewed, falling quiet as the clan started to chant,

"Parchnose! Snowpelt! Parchnose! Snowpelt!"Both cats bent their heads, before going over to where Silentstep was waiting beside the elder's den.

"This evening, we will also perform another ceremony. By making apprentices, we show that Swampclan will survive and remain strong." Laurelpaw flicked up her ears in amazement. Dewtail's kits were being apprenticed! She hadn't thought it would be so soon! Rowankit, Streamkit, and Crestkit had already taken their place in the center of the circle.

"From this moment on, until he has earned his warrior name, this apprentice will be known as Rowanpaw. I ask Starclan to watch over you and guide you until you find in your paws the strength and courage of a warrior. Leafeye, you are now ready to take on an apprentice. You have received excellent training from Silentstep, and you have shown yourself to be fierce and brave. You will be the mentor of Rowanpaw, and I expect you to pass on all you know to Rowanpaw." Rowanpaw went over to stand in front of Leafeye, where they touched noses and moved towards the edge of the crowd.

"From this moment on, until she has earned her warrior name, this apprentice will be known as Crestpaw. I ask Starclan to watch over you and guide you until you find in your paws the strength and courage of a warrior. Squirrelfur, you are now ready to take on an apprentice. You have received excellent training from Skyheart, and you have shown yourself to be fierce and brave. You will be the mentor of Crestpaw, and I expect you to pass all you know to Crestpaw." Crestpaw bounded over to Squirrelfur, and stretched herself up as tall as she could be, before touching her nose to Squirrelfur's. Echowhisper padded into the center of the clearing, where Streamkit stood.

"Cats of Swampclan, as you know, I will not be around forever. It's time I took an apprentice. I have chosen a cat who has shown patience and kindness to her clanmates. Your next medicine cat will be Streampaw." Streampaw's green eyes widened in excitement.

"Streampaw, do you accept the post of apprentice to Echowhisper?" Barkstar asked.

"I do." Streampaw's voice was quiet, but full of determination.

"Then at the half-moon, you must travel to the Stonecave to be accepted by Starclan before the other medicine cats." Echowhisper mewed.

"The good wishes of all Swampclan will go with you." Barkstar finished.

The clearing erupted into cheers of "Streampaw! Crestpaw! Rowanpaw! Streampaw! Crestpaw! Rowanpaw!" as Streampaw and Echowhisper touched noses.

"Oh great." Laurelpaw muttered to Jaypaw. "Now we have to share our den."


	5. Updated Clan Allegiances

Swampclan

Leader: Barkstar - Brown tabby (black) with green eyes

Deputy: Ivyleaf - Grey tabby (black) she-cat with green eyes

Medicine Cat: Echowhisper - Grey and white tabby (black) with a blue left eye and a green right eye

Apprentice: Streampaw

WARRIORS

Lightfur - Grey spotted tabby (black) she-cat with green eyes

Apprentice: Laurelpaw

Burrtail - Brown tom with black points and amber eyes

Squirrelfur - Orange tabby (dark orange) tom with brown eyes

Apprentice: Crestpaw

Dewtail - Dark grey she-cat with green eyes

Dusktail - Light brown spotted tabby (dark brown) tom with a white chest and paws. Blue eyes.

Apprentice: Jaypaw

Mouseclaw -Brown tabby (black) tom with grey eyes

Leafeye - Light brown she-cat with green eyes

Apprentice: Rowanpaw

APPRENTICES

Laurelpaw - Brown and light brown patched she-cat with grey eyes

Jaypaw - Golden tabby (grey) tom with black front paws and muzzle. White hind paws and tip of tail. Brown eyes.

Rowanpaw - Brown tom with green eyes and a black tail

Crestpaw -Grey she-cat with amber eyes and white paws

Streampaw -Dark grey she-cat with green eyes

ELDERS

Silentstep - Old brown tabby (black) she-cat with blue eyes

Parchnose - Golden tabby (black) tom with grey eyes and black paws

Snowpelt - Tortishell she-cat with brown eyes and a white tail

Stoneclan

Leader: Shalestar - Grey tom with blue eyes

Deputy: Blacktail - Small black and white patched she-cat with brown eyes

Medicine Cat: Duskstripe -White and grey patched tabby (black) tom with green eyes

Apprentice: Robinpaw

WARRIORS

Birdwing - Light grey she-cat with amber eyes

Apprentice: Branchpaw

Iceeye - Large white tabby (black) tom with light blue eyes

Apprentice: Thornpaw

Stripedpelt - Grey tabby (black) tom with light green eyes and a torn left ear

Ashtree - Grey tom with green eyes

Moonwater - Light grey tabby (black) she-cat with green eyes

Silverwhisker - Small light grey spotted tabby(dark grey) she-cat with green eyes

Nightfire - Black she-cat with amber eyes

Ambereye - Black she-cat with amber eyes

Hailpelt - Black and grey patched she-cat with blue eyes

APPRENTICES

Robinpaw - Small brown she-cat with a sorrel chest, belly, and tail. Brown eyes

Branchpaw - Brown tabby (black) tom with black paws and amber eyes

Thornpaw - Brown tom with brown eyes

QUEENS AND KITS

Suntail - Golden she-cat with amber eyes, mother of Ashtree's kits-

Snowkit - Grey she-cat with amber eyes

Sharpkit - Dark grey tom with green eyes

Auroafur - Small white she-cat with grey eyes, Expecting ?'s kits (believed to be Sharpice's)

ELDERS

Eagleflight - Golden tabby (black) tom with blue eyes

Darkwater - Black tom with blue eyes, has lost sight in right eye

Driftblown - White tabby (black) tom with blue eyes

Shallowstream - Grey she-cat with blue eyes. Is missing half of her tail.

Forrestclan

Leader: Thicketstar - Brown spotted tabby (black) she-cat with brown eyes and spiky fur

Deputy: Pinetail - Light brown tabby (dark brown) tom with green eyes

Medicine Cat: Antclaw - Small black tom with a scarred muzzle and shoulder, brown eyes, previously a warrior

WARRIORS

Cedartail - Brown she-cat with blue eyes

Brightshine - Blue-grey tom with blue eyes and a scarred left leg

Tornwhisker - Orange tabby(dark orange) she-cat with blue eyes

Apprentice: Longpaw

Thistlepelt - Brown tabby (black) tom with green eyes and spiky fur

Apprentice: Shadowpaw

Fishstreak - Blue-grey she-cat with grey eyes

Apprentice: Acornpaw

Cloudfoot - Brown tom with white paws and brown eyes

Embertail - White and orange patched tabby (dark orange) she-cat with a orange striped tail and green eyes

Pricklepelt - Blue-grey tom with spiky fur and grey eyes

APPRENTICES

Longpaw - Grey tabby tom with green eyes and long black legs

Shadowpaw - Dark grey she-cat with blue eyes

Acornpaw - Small light brown tom with brown eyes

QUEENS AND KITS

Softbreeze - Tortishell she-cat with amber eyes, mother of Pinetail's ktis-

Foxkit - Brown tom with amber eyes

Patchkit - Tortishell she-cat with green eyes

Shadekit - Brown tabby (black) tom with amber eyes

ELDERS

Spikefur - Brown spotted tabby she-cat with brown eyes and spiky fur

Wintersky - Blue-grey tom with blue eyes

Ancient Islandclan

Leader: Palmstar - Cream she-cat with brown paws and green eyes

Deputy: Crabclaw - Ginger she-cat with green eyes

Medicine Cat: Foamtail - Light blue-grey tom with grey eyes

WARRIORS

Darkstone - Black tom with blue eyes

Waveripple - Blue-grey she-cat with grey eyes

Apprentice: Splashpaw

Pooltail - Light grey tom with blue eyes

Stoneclaw - Dark grey she-cat with green eyes

Apprentice: Mistpaw

Minnowscale -Blue-grey tom with grey eyes

Rockpelt -Grey and dark grey patched she-cat with blue eyes

Sandpelt - Cream tom with brown points and green eyes

Sunfall - Black and ginger patched tom with blue eyes

Pillarleg - Brown she-cat with long legs and grey eyes

APPRENTICES

Mistpaw -Blue-grey she-cat with blue eyes

Splashpaw -Blue-grey tom with blue eyes

Driftpaw -Brown she-cat with grey eyes. Held back due to a leg injury.

QUEENS/KITS

Otterfur -Brown she-cat with blue eyes, expecting Pooltail's kits

ELDERS

Shinystone -Dark grey tom with blue eyes

Shorttail -Cream she-cat with half of a tail and brown eyes

Tidefur -Blue-grey tom with grey eyes

Flashpelt -Blue-grey she-cat with blue eyes


	6. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Laurelpaw woke up the next morning with a black tail clasped between her jaws, and a frantic Rowanpaw trying to get it out. He eventually succeeded when Laurelpaw woke up, along with half of the camp. Lightfur, Dusktail, Squirrelfur, Dewtail, Burrtail, and Echowhisper packed into the apprentice den, trying to figure out what the fuss was about. They succeeded in squishing the four apprentices against the wall, in addition to getting Lightfur stuck in the entrance. Her broad shoulders had caught, once again, on the roof of the entrance, and this time, the twigs and brambles weren't letting go of her so easily. Luckily, Streampaw slept in the medicine cat den, and had gotten out of her nest late enough to not get caught in the tangle of cats inside the apprentices den.

"Streampaw! Are you there?" Echowhisper asked, while Dewtail tried to shush a frantic Rowanpaw, who was wailing about his tail.

"Yeah, I'm outside. What can I do to help?" Streampaw asked.

"For starters, you can get me out of this den!" Lightfur hissed at her. Streampaw backed away, ears flat against her head.

"O-o-ok" She stuttered, before reaching up to the entrance, and began to tear away pawfulls of brambles, twigs, and reeds with her claws. A few moments later, Light fur was able to back out of the den, taking a sizable chunk of the roof with her. One by one, the cats piled out of the apprentices den, the older warriors looking embarrassed, while the apprentices were staring at their mentors with wide eyes. Dewtail was covering her son's tail with furious licks.

"What happened to your tail?" She mewed frantically. Rowanpaw glared at Laurelpaw.

"Laurelpaw bit it!" Dewtail's head whirled around, green eyes flashing.

"I didn't do it on purpose! I was asleep, and I dreampt that we were hunting lizards! I'm really sorry Rowanpaw! I didn't mean it, I swear!" Dewtail and Rowanpaw were still glaring at her. Lightfur laid her tail on Laurelpaw's shoulder, but Laurelpaw ignored it and stormed out of camp. Laurelpaw thought she heard Jaypaw call after her, but she ignored him, and broke into a run towards the StoneClan border. Tearing through various tangles of reeds and bushes, she finally emerged on the edge of the moors, face and ears stinging where it had been scratched by brambles. Slowing down to a lope, Laurelpaw decided to hunt for rabbits. Rabbits would make the Clan happy, and perhaps if she gave a big one to Dewtail and another to Rowanpaw, they'd forgive her. Opening her jaws to scent the air, she quickly picked up a rabbit scent. Tracking it through the golden-brown grasses, she soon came upon the rabbit warrens at the very edge of their territory, on ForrestClan's border, by the fallen tree that lead to the gathering island. Peering carefully over the crest of a hill, Laurelpaw spotted one rabbit hopping around. Remembering the failed assault on her mentor, Laurelpaw checked where the wind was blowing. It was blowing the rabbit scent towards her, so that meant that she had to be downwind. Sliding slowly through the grasses, Laurelpaw pricked her ears, and made sure she knew where the rabbit was before she sprang. As expected, the rabbit started to run away from her, but luckily from practicing hunting lizards, Laurelpaw landed close to the rabbit, and after a few moments of chasing it, she successfully brought it down with a paw and killed it with a quick nip to the neck. Bowing her head, she muttered,

"Thanks to StarClan for the prey that I have killed for food today. I ask that the prey remain plentiful as this, and.." Laurelpaw paused before blurting out, "Please let Dewtail and Rowanpaw forgive me for biting Rowanpaw's tail!" Ducking her head with embarrassment, Laurelpaw grabbed the scruff of the rabbit and started to drag it back to camp.

By the time Laurelpaw had gotten back to camp, her neck was aching. The rabbit was a heavy one, and her paws shuffled with tiredness as she dragged it to the fresh-kill pile. As she slunk to the apprentice's den, Lightfur emerged from Barkstar's den, black and grey tail lashing. When her green eyes met Laurelpaw's grey ones, Laurelpaw knew she was in trouble. Flattening her ears against her head, she sat down, shoulders hunched, head hung low, tail in the dust. Lightfur approached her, eyes narrowed.

"You will be checking the elders for ticks, hunting for them, and changing their bedding all by yourself until the next gathering, which Barkstar has decided that you will attend, against Ivyleaf's and my judgment." Laurelpaw perked her ears. The next gathering would be soon. However, if you do not do a good job in caring for the elders, you will not get to go to the gathering." Lightfur finished, tail lashing.

"Is this because I left camp without telling anybody where I was going, or was this because of me biting Rowanpaw's tail?" Laurelpaw asked, her grey eyes wide as she looked up at her mentor.

"It's because of leaving camp without telling anybody where you went. You know how few warriors that we have. Yes, it has gotten better now that we have Rowanpaw and Crestpaw helping out, but we still have far fewer warriors than the other clans. What would have happened if the ForrestClan cats were hunting over the border and they attacked you? We need every single warrior, apprentice, kit, and elder. Your actions were foolish, and put the safety of the clan at risk. It was the actions of a kit, not a warrior apprentice." Lightfur finished, then turned around, tail lashing as she stalked out of the tunnel. Laurelpaw bent her head with a sigh, then padded towards the medicine cat's den with her tail dragging in the dust.


	7. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Laurelpaw pressed the ball of moss coated in mouse bile against Snowpelt's last tick. It fell off from her white tail, and Parchnose scooped it up with a paw before it could burry it's self into the moss of her nest.

"That's the last one Snowpelt." Laurelpaw mewed wearily. Silentstep's ears flicked up.

"We don't need our bedding changed, you did that yesterday, and mind you, you did a great job. I'm fancying a lizard. How about you Snowpelt and Parchnose?" Parchnose and Snowpelt requested a rabbit to share. Backing out of the Elder's den, Laurelpaw bumped into Jaypaw, who was carrying a couple of mice to the fresh-kill pile. After standing awkwardly for a few seconds, his jaw dropped and the mice slipped from his mouth. Laurelpaw twisted her head to see what was behind her that he was looking at, but nothing was there. By the time she had turned around again, Jaypaw was on the other side of the clearing putting the two mice on the fresh-kill pile, his head and shoulders shaded by the rock overhang. He was staring at Laurelpaw now, his brown eyes dark. Shaking her head, Laurelpaw went over to Burrtail and asked if he would mind hunting with her, as Lightfur was out on patrol. With a dip of his head, Burrtail accepted, and together they walked out of the tunnel.

It was sunhigh before Laurelpaw had finished hunting for the elders. Burrtail had pointed out two rabbits to her, but so far, she had missed both of them. Laurelpaw had managed to catch a couple of lizards, and Burrtail a rabbit and a lizard. As they gathered up their catch, Burrtail mewed,

"I'll trade you this rabbit for your big lizard." Laurelpaw glanced away and muttered thanks to him, before batting the larger of her lizards towards Burrtail.

"You know, I'm not angry about you accidently biting Rowanpaw's tail."Burrtail meowed. Laurelpaw's head shot up, and her pelt started to prickle with embarrassment. "I did a similar thing to my littermate Blackpaw. She didn't forgive me for two whole moons. Give Dewtail some time to cool down. I believe that Rowanpaw is already over the incident though, he doesn't stop talking about you now." Laurelpaw felt her ears get hot. "They did appreciate the rabbit though. Come, let's get back to camp."Burrtail finished. Laurelpaw bent her head and picked up the rabbit, while Burrtail took up the lizard tails in his mouth, and they started to pad back to camp.

Once Laurelpaw had presented Silentstep, Parchnose, and Snowpelt with their rabbit and lizard, Lightfur told her to patch the room of the apprentice's den with some spare brambles and twigs at the side of the clearing. The sun had started to set by the time she had finished repairing the roof of the den. Laurelpaw was sure she had brambles stuck in her fur somewhere, but she was too tired to try to pick them out. Her belly rumbled, and to her embarrassment, Rowanpaw heard. Flicking his black tail in amusement, he asked,

"Care for something from the fresh-kill pile? I caught a good water vole today, in addition to a mouse, but there's other prey if you would like it."

"I'll have the water vole please." Laurelpaw said, before flopping down onto the packed dirt with a muffled thump. Feeling a prick in her side, she turned her head to lap at her fur, eventually dislodging a couple of brambles. Rowanpaw padded up and gently laid the water vole down at her paws.

"Thanks, it looks really good." Laurelpaw said with a hint of a purr in her voice. Rowanpaw settled down beside her, and started to crunch on a finch. Jaypaw came into the center of the camp carrying a thrush and a couple of frogs. He saw Rowanpaw and Laurelpaw sitting together, sharing prey, and stalked over to the fresh-kill pile, and grabbed a lizard for himself, which he ate on the other side of the clearing, watching Rowanpaw and Laurelpaw with narrowed eyes.

"I'm sorry about the whole fuss with my tail." Rowanpaw said, flattening his ears.

"It's really ok. I feel bad about biting it." Laurelpaw replied. Rowanpaw grinned.

"So how is helping the elders going for you so far?" Rowanpaw asked.

"It's gone well. I didn't clean out their bedding today, so I'll be doing that tomorrow. I had to get a rabbit for Snowpelt and Parchnose, and Silentstep wanted her usual lizard. Both Snowpelt and Parchnose had a few ticks, but Silentstep only had one on her ear. What did you do today?" Laurelpaw asked Rowanpaw.

"I went on a border patrol with Lightfur, Leafeye, Dusktail, and Jaypaw, and we patrolled the ForrestClan border. We found a few stray scents inside our border, and it seems to be a rogue. I think that tomorrow Barkstar will send out a patrol to find the rogue and drive him out, or at least, that was what Ivyleaf was thinking when we told her. Hey, is it just me, or is Ivyleaf getting fat?" Laurelpaw turned her head to peer over Rowanpaw's flank. Ivyleaf was sunning herself in the last rays of light. Her grey and black belly was looking plump Laurelpaw mused.

"I think that you're right about her looking somewhat plump." Laurelpaw replied. As they watched her, Dusktail padded up to her and dropped a rabbit at her paws. He licked the top of her head, then settled down beside her, brown and black tail twined with her grey and black tail.

"Perhaps they are expecting kits. If they had kits, it would make a huge addition to the ranks of SwampClan!" Rowanpaw exclaimed, looking over at Laurelpaw, green eyes shining.

"Uhh..Yeah." Laurelpaw mewed, suddenly feeling akward. She flicked her ears and turned her head to look for Jaypaw. She saw his white-tipped tail vanishing into the apprentice's den. "Do you mind if I go rest now? I'm kind of tired.."Laurelpaw's voice trailed off into a yawn. Rowanpaw's whiskers twitched with amusement.

"Of course. Here, I'll bury what's left of your prey for you. Get some rest." Rowanpaw batted the remains of her water vole towards what was left of his finch, picking them up gently between his teeth, and dragged them to the tunnel. Laurelpaw picked herself up, and padded slowly to the apprentices' den. Jaypaw was curled up in a ball of golden fur, and Laurelpaw settled down into her nest next to him. Laying her head on her paws, Laurelpaw turned to see Rowanpaw slip into the den and settle down in his nest, also next to Laurelpaw's. His green eyes widened, and he asked what she was thinking, trying to fall asleep with brambles in her fur. His tongue lapped at her brown pelt, gently teasing brambles from Laurelpaw's fur, the relaxing rhythm of his tongue sending her to sleep.


	8. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

The moon was almost full, and it would be time for the gathering soon. Laurelpaw hoped that she did a good job caring for Snowpelt, Parchnose, and Silentstep. A chilly wind rustled the reeds outside of the camp. Leaf-fall was here, and already, the reeds were growing stiff and brittle with the cold. Fluffing up her fur against the chilly wind, Laurelpaw tried to shake off the ominous dream. She had dreamt that ForrestClan was fighting SwampClan, when an orange tabby tom with black patches had come over a rise with the rising sun shining behind him. The fighting cats had paused, and one by one, they had slipped back into their respective territories, licking wounds. The tom had padded confidently down the slope, and the cats respectfully moved aside for him, even though he was the size of an apprentice. When he had reached Laurelpaw, she did not step aside, and with a furious hiss, the tom had attacked her with unsheathed claws, blue eyes blazing. Laurelpaw shook her head, trying to rid herself of the image of his furious face and sharp claws. A muted coughing came from the elder's den. Laurelpaw hurried over, and poked her head into the den. Silentstep was hunched over in her nest, sides heaving as she tried to quell the coughing that came from her. Her blue eyes widened as she noticed Laurelpaw.

"I'm ok, don't-"Her words were broken by another fit of coughing. Laurelpaw's eyes widened. She had only heard her cough a few times that morning, there was no way this could have happened so fast. She hurried over to the medicine cat's den, where Echowhisker and Streampaw were curled up next to each other. Laurelpaw prodded Echowhisker's flank until she woke up. Her odd-colored eyes opened slowly before realizing that Laurelpaw was standing in front of her.

"What's the matter?" She asked sleepily.

"I heard Silentstep coughing. Earlier today, she was coughing only a little bit, but now it seems like she can't stop!" Laurelpaw mewed, suddenly worried that this was her fault, and that she wouldn't be allowed to go to the gathering. Echowhisker hauled herself to her paws, then vanished further into a crack between the stones.

"Why don't you wake up Streampaw?" She called to Laurelpaw. Bending over Streampaw, she prodded her grey pelt with her paw until she twitched, then leapt out of her nest.

"What's going on? Where's Echowhisker?" She asked. Laurelpaw flicked her ears towards the crack, and Streampaw hurried over to it, and disappeared into the shadows. Laurelpaw sat down, and listened to their conversation.

"If a cat has a cough, what herbs can we use to help cure that cough?" Echowhisper was asking Streampaw.

"What herbs are good for curing coughs?" There was a pause before Streampaw replied.

"Ginger, catnip, honey is good for soothing the throat after long boughts of coughing, and lavender is good for easing pain in a sore throat."Streampaw replied.

"Good job. Next time try to remember the flower heads of poppies. Those are also good for curing coughs. Now find all of those herbs, point out the honey, catnip, lavender, and the poppy flower heads, and put the lavender outside."

Streampaw appeared a few moments later dragging a rolled up leaf. She unwrapped it, revealing an assortment of leaves and flowers which Laurelpaw assumed to be lavender.

"Good job Streampaw." Echowhisker said to her. Let's give her a couple of the flowers. I'll put away the lavender, and meet me in the elder's den." Echowhisker said, allowing Streampaw to snag a couple of the flowers with a claw before re-wrapping the leaf and dragging it back into the crack. Streampaw hurried off to the elder's den. Laurelpaw waited until Echowhisker emerged from the crack once again, before asking,

"Is this my fault that Silentstep got sick? Will she die?"Echowhisker shook her head.

"It isn't your fault that Silentstep got sick, and I'm sure that she will be fine soon. Now go back to your nest." Echowhisker said, before padding past her and after Streampaw. Laurelpaw slunk back to her nest and settled back down into it, hoping that she wouldn't have another dream like the battle again.


	9. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

A few days had passed since Silentstep had started coughing. She wasn't getting better, and had moved into the medicine cat's den. Thankfully, Snowpelt and Parchnose hadn't started coughing. The gathering was that evening, and Lightfur had called Laurelpaw over to her.

"You've done a good job caring for the elders. Silentstep getting a cough was not your fault, and I know that you're blaming yourself for it, but keep in mind that everything happens for a reason. StarClan has set your paws on a wonderful path, Laurelpaw, trust them and the ways they work. Barkstar has agreed to let all of the apprentices come to the gathering tonight, as it will be your first gathering for you and the other apprentices."Lightfur's eyes wandered off, and she stopped talking.

"Uhh..Lightfur? You ok?" Laurelpaw mewed hesitantly. Lightfur's gaze snapped back to Laurelpaw.

"Yes..Of course. I..Thought that I heard a cat coughing. You have the evening off to rest and talk with the other apprentices. Be sure to eat something before the gathering. This morning we will practice battle moves with the other apprentices.." Lightfur trailed off again, but started talking before Laurelpaw could say anything. "We're going to meet by the edge of the moors, not the sandy streambed. It's time we started to give you a taste of fighting on solid ground, and it will help you clean up those sloppy rolling moves that you haven't gotten right yet." Laurelpaw ducked her head in embarrassment. "Come, it's time we should be heading out." Dusktail was leading Jaypaw towards the tunnel, and as they came out of the other side, Dusktail broke into a run, as did Jaypaw and Laurelpaw, with Lightfur following after a moment's hesitation.

When they got to the edge of the trees, Laurelpaw picked up the scents of Squirrelfur, Leafeye, Rowanpaw, Crestpaw, and to her surprise, Echowhisker and Streampaw. As the group slowed down, Leafeye and Streampaw turned their heads towards them.

"What are the medicine cats doing here?" Laurelpaw asked. "I thought that they only healed cats, not fought."

"Every medicine cat receives a basic warrior's training. They need to know how to fight in the occasion it is necessary." Dusktail replied, after realizing that Lightfur was distracted yet again. Lightfur had been very distant this morning, and often drifted off into thought while having a conversation, and a few times, she had splashed into the marshy water, and had even fallen over a tree root. Her strong, proud mentor was becoming as clumsy and distracted as a kit during its first time out of the nursery! Her normally neat grey and black spotted fur was messy and unkempt, with bits of reeds and brambles caught here and there, and her paws and chest were dripping with swamp water.

"Hey Laurelpaw! You wanna come over and fight me?" Crestpaw shouted. Laurelpaw's ears flicked up, and she shouted an agreement before charging into Crestpaw. She fell over with a shriek, white forepaws batting at Laurelpaw's head in an attempt to make her release her grip. Laurelpaw eventually leapt back, with the starts of a headache. Crestpaw's blows with her paws were hard and accurate. Circling Crestpaw, Laurelpaw leapt at her side, landing so that she could swipe a paw or two at her hind legs, but Crestpaw had whirled to the side, so that she was facing Laurelpaw when she landed, forepaws ready. She leapt at Laurelpaw so that her paws landed on where her front legs bent at the shoulder, causing Laurelpaw to collapse, front legs tingling. Crestpaw had pushed back when she had been sure that Laurelpaw was falling, and had leapt onto her back. Laurelpaw started to wiggle around, and eventually twisted her body so that Crestpaw fell off. The two she-cats started to circle each other again, Laurelpaw waiting for Crestpaw to charge at her. Eventually, Crestpaw leapt at Laurelpaw, who reared up on her hind legs. Crestpaw, seeing what she was trying to do, skidded to a stop before balancing on her wobbly hind legs and reaching up with her forepaws. Laurelpaw tottered, then fell down onto Crestpaw, who was reduced to a pile of wiggling fur underneath Laurelpaw. Eventually she gave up, and Laurelpaw hopped off her back lightly, landing with a slight stumble. Her front legs were starting to ache. Crestpaw had been using some strong moves. Squirrelfur was certainly a good mentor. Laurelpaw didn't know much about the warrior. He didn't normally interact with the apprentices that much, though it was rumored that his ways of convincing other cats were not limited only to claws. She glanced over at Squirrelfur. His brown eyes were shining with pride as he watched Crestpaw fight Jaypaw. Perhaps he did have a soft spot for young cats after all. A lump of dark grey fur crashed into Laurelpaw, sending her sprawling on the dirt. Streampaw was standing over her, back arched, tail fluffed up. Laurelpaw pulled herself to her paws, before launching herself at Streampaw.

The training session had been a tiring one. Laurelpaw's front legs hurt from when Crestpaw had leapt on them, and her tail was sore from when Streampaw had bit it slightly too hard. Rowanpaw had been more gentle with her, teasing more than fighting. And Jaypaw had been as cold as ever, seeming not to approve of her and Rowanpaw's new friendship. She took a mouse from the fresh-kill pile and settled down to Rowanpaw and Crestpaw, who were debating whether or not lizards tasted better than frogs. Rowanpaw had a frog in front of him, while Crestpaw had a lizard under one white paw. Laurelpaw started to crunch on her mouse, listening as Crestpaw described why frogs stunk, and how lizards were obviously better than frogs. Rowanpaw retorted with a similar speech, before the pair falling silent and looking up to highbranch. Barkstar was clawing his way up the tree, where he sat on highbranch, where he yowled out his summons to the clan. The cats gathered below him, milling around uncertainly.

"Cats of SwampClan. There have been an increasing number of ForrestClan scents inside our border. I believe that they are starting to scout around to find the best place to attack a patrol and invade a part of our territory. We must double the patrols on that side of the border starting tomorrow. I understand that we have a lot of trouble patrolling each border twice a day, but we must show ForrestClan that we are strong!" Barkstar's speech ended in a yowl, and yowls from the cats gathered below rose up to him. His green eyes shone with pride as he gazed down at his clan below. His warriors would be ready for the battle that was coming.


	10. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Laurelpaw looked up at the full moon. It shown down upon the small group of cats moving through the moor grasses. The apprentices were sticking close to their mentors, finding comfort in their larger, more confident forms. Before they had left camp, they had been warned about giving away information to the other apprentices that could be used against their clan. At the beginning of the moonlit trek, each mentor tested their apprentice by asking them questions, some focused on gleaning information, others simple questions, directed to relax the apprentices and lull them into a false sense of security, but now they fell silent, sensing the tension coming from the other warriors. They leaped across one of the rivers that snaked through their territory, then paused as they finally reached the tree. Barkstar held up his black-striped tail in a signal for them to stop. He turned around, and gathered the apprentices around him.

"Remember not to give away any information that could jeopardize our Clan's safety. Do not start a fight with any other cats, no matter what." Barkstar mewed, green eyes flashing. "The gathering is a time of truce. You must not do anything that could upset StarClan. Let's go." He turned, then raced towards the tree. Laurelpaw pelted after him, realizing how small and kit-like she still was. Her legs were short, fur soft, and her tail was still a little stumpy. She was a little bigger than Rowanpaw, Crestpaw, and Streampaw, but not by much. Opening her mouth, Laurelpaw tasted the air. The cold, dank scent of StoneClan was the freshest, smelling like tumbling water and stones. Under the StoneClan scent, she scented the pine and oak smell that was the ForrestClan scent.

"What do you smell?" Lightfur, asked studying her carefully, green eyes questioning.

"I smell StoneClan scent and ForrestClan scent. It looks like ForrestClan was here first, then StoneClan." Laurelpaw replied. Lightfur nodded her head, then turned to watch Barkstar leap up onto the tree that crossed a churning river of water. Dusktail and Jaypaw followed him, and then it was Laurelpaw's turn.

"Dig your claws into the bark. It's slippery and wet from the water, but if you fall, I'll be here to catch you, don't worry." Lightfur mewed from beside her. Laurelpaw nodded her head, then leapt up onto the tree. It bucked under her weight slightly, then steadied. Laurelpaw walked slowly across the tree, digging her sharp claws deep into the slippery bark. When she got to the roots of the tree, she wove around them, then leapt down into a small pool of water, sending it splashing everywhere, causing Dusktail to turn around sharply with a hiss and flattened ears. Laurelpaw backed away, ears flat against her head. Lightfur landed lightly beside her, and gave her a nudge towards the center of the Island. Laurelpaw followed Lightfur as she padded ahead of her, suddenly nervous. What were the other clans like? Did ForrestClan really sleep in trees, like the elders told stories of? Were StoneClan cats as big as wolves? Laurelpaw shook her head. Cats couldn't be as big as wolves, because wolves were dogs and dogs were big, and cats weren't dogs. She wasn't too sure about the ForrestClan cats not sleeping in trees though. There were a few bushes on the muddy shore. Laurelpaw lifted up her dirty paws in disgust, curling her lip at the mud that now coated them.

"Come, Laurelpaw." Lightfur called to her, standing by a thick wall of bushes. Laurelpaw scrambled over to her, paws slipping in the mud. Together, they pushed through the scraggly bushes, their branches tugging at their fur. In the center of the bushes, a clearing covered in silvery grasses tugged by gusts of wind. In the center of the clearing, a shimmering boulder stood majestically, towering over Laurelpaw. As she continued to look around the clearing, she saw many cats from the two other clans. Their scents mingled together, making it hard to tell which clan each cat was from. Eventually, Rowanpaw joined up with her, green eyes huge.

"Let's go find some other apprentices to talk to." Laurelpaw suggested. Rowanpaw nodded his head, and eventually, they found a group of smaller cats. A small black she-cat with sparkling blue eyes was telling a story about how she fought off a fox. A long-legged grey tabby with black legs was cutting into the story and helped tell it to a brown tom and a brown tabby with black paws. Rowanpaw and Laurelpaw padded up to the cats and settled down to listen.

"So then I clawed the fox's nose to pieces! It was so surprised, it froze, and then Longpaw jumped at it, but he missed one leg-"The black-legged tom interrupted the she-cat "Shadowpaw! I would have gotten it, but it moved away. That fox would have been crow-food if it hadn't moved." Longpaw mewed.

"So what happened next?" The brown tom asked, his brown eyes shining. Shadowpaw's mouth opened, but she was interrupted by a yowl from the shimmering rock. All of the cats gathered below turned to look at the rock. Laurelpaw picked out Barkstar on the top of the rock, sitting in between a grey tom with blue eyes and a brown spotted tabby with fur that stuck out everywhere. Below Barkstar, Ivyleaf sat, looking like a queen that should have been in the nursery rather than sitting in her deputy position. A small black and white patched she-cat sat below the grey tom, and a light brown tabby sat below the leader with the funny spiky fur.

"Everything in StoneClan is going well. Amberpaw and Hailpaw have completed their apprentice training, and are now warriors by the names of Ambereye and Hailpelt." The clearing below erupted into yowls of coagulations. A black she-cat was sitting next to a grey and black patched she-cat. The black she-cat had her head held high, while the grey and black she-cat had tucked her head down. After the cats had quieted down, the grey tom continued his announcement.

"Prey is running well, and so far there has been no trouble with wolves." He said, blue eyes flashing with a unspoken challenge as he stepped back. A large tom with spiky brown tabby fur let out a hiss, and flexed his scarred shoulders.

"There's always trouble with wolves during this time of year. How could he brush it off like it's nothing? My patrol had to help three of their cats fight off a wolf earlier." His speech became muted, and turned to muttering, but his green eyes flicked warily from side to side, uncertain if any cat had heard him. Laurelpaw focused her attention back onto the rock again.

"We welcome Pricklepelt as a full warrior of ForrestClan." Again, the clearing erupted into cheerful yowls. Pricklepelt had ducked his spiky blue-grey furred head, but his grey eyes were shining with pride. When Laurelpaw turned back to the stone again, Barkstar had stepped forwards.

"Prey is abundant in SwampClan territory. We also have five new apprentices this moon. Streampaw, Crestpaw, Rowanpaw, Jaypaw, and Laurelpaw." Laurelpaw felt all of the cats in the clearing staring her, then they started cheering. Laurelpaw held her head up proudly, she was an apprentice of SwampClan! She had been accepted by the other clans at a gathering, under StarClan. She was on her way to becoming a warrior!


	11. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

The yowls of cats broke through Laurelpaw's thoughts. She had been dragging moss from the elder's den when she heard cats running through the tunnel. Burrtail, Leafeye, Rowanpaw, and Squirrelfur skidded to a stop in the center of the clearing.

"ForrestClan has trespassed inside our border! They have two fighting patrols ready on our territory!" Squirrelfur yowled out. Barkstar swarmed up the tree to highbranch.

"Warriors of SwampClan! Gather below me!"Cats flowed like water from their dens. No other cats had been on patrol, the early morning patrols had been a good idea.

"Our territory has been invaded by ForrestClan!" Outraged yowls emminated from the cats gathered below.

"We must drive them off! Ivyleaf, Burrtail, Squirrelfur, Dusktail, Leafeye, Rowanpaw, Crestpaw, Jaypaw, and Laurelpaw, gather by the tunnel."Barkstar raced down the tree, to where the named cats were already standing.

"Wait!" Echowhisker yowled. "Take Streampaw with you! She can help wounded cats on the battlefield." She shoved Streampaw towards the group.

"Let's go." Barkstar mewed, and the patrol charged out of the tunnel and into the swamp.

Squirrelfur lead the patrol to where he had seen the ForrestClan cats. They were milling around anxiously, mewing to themselves, while a couple apprentices practiced fighting moves on each other, with their mentors watching on and providing bits of advice. Laurelpaw turned to Rowanpaw. "Those are the two apprentices that we saw at the gathering a half-moon ago, Longpaw and Shadowpaw." Rowanpaw nodded his head. Barkstar was splitting the cats into two groups.

"Ivyleaf, Burrtail, Leafeye, Laurelpaw, Crestpaw, you're the first patrol. Squirrelfur, Dusktail, Rowanpaw, Jaypaw, you're the second patrol. Join us when the other patrol of their warriors joins the fight. Squirrelfur, you're in charge of your patrol. I'll be going with the first patrol. Good luck all of you." Barkstar said, before turning to his group. Rowanpaw hurried over to Laurelpaw and wished her good luck. Jaypaw stayed with his group. Laurelpaw felt a flash of sadness. When they were kits, they couldn't wait for their first battle together. Now, Jaypaw was angry at her for StarClan knows why, and their plan wasn't going to be put into effect. Barkstar's tail lowered, the signal to go into battle. Laurelpaw tossed one last look over her shoulder, to see Jaypaw's head lowered in sadness, and Rowanpaw's green eyes staring back at her.

Laurelpaw turned her head to the ForrestClan cats, who had noticed them. Laurelpaw focused on one of the apprentices, Shadowpaw, and charged straight towards her. Screeches erupted from around her, and she crashed into Shadowpaw's black fur. The apprentice rolled with her, and flung her off onto the hard ground beyond her. Laurelpaw struggled to her feet, only to find Shadowpaw flying towards her. Laurelpaw crouched against the ground, causing Shadowpaw to fly past her. Laurelpaw turned and leapt onto Shadowpaw's back. She sunk her claws into Shadowpaw's soft black pelt. The she-cat let out a screech, and bucked under Laurelpaw. Keeping a hold of Shadowpaw with her forepaws, Laurelpaw used her hind claws to tear out pawfulls of fur from Shadowpaw's back. The black she-cat dropped to the ground, then lurched to the side, sending Laurelpaw sprawling against a boulder. A flash of pain from one of Laurelpaw's hind paws caused her to gasp, and then Shadowpaw was on top of her, tearing pawfulls of her belly fur out. Laurelpaw let out a screech as Shadowpaw's claws started to cut the skin beneath. There was a flash of grey fur, and Shadowpaw's weight vanished from Laurelpaw. Crestpaw was wrestling with Shadowpaw in the dirt a few tail-lengths away from her. Shadowpaw untangled herself from Crestpaw and reared up on strong hind legs. Crestpaw darted under Shadowpaw, and clapped her paws around one of her hind legs, which buckled, sending Shadowpaw sprawling in a heap. Together, Laurelpaw and Crestpaw slashed at Shadowpaw with sharp claws, driving her back towards the river. A grey and black shape flashed past Laurelpaw and bundled into Crestpaw. Shadowpaw took the opportunity to leap onto Laurelpaw, but Laurelpaw ducked and skittered underneath Shadowpaw's flying form. The black she-cat rounded on Laurelpaw again, and leapt. Laurelpaw rose up to meet her in the air, balancing on her hind legs. Shadowpaw crashed into her, and both she-cats fell over into the streambed, and landed near the fast-flowing river. Laurelpaw hit her head on a rock, and her vision started to blur. She closed her eyes, trying to make her sight stop spinning around, and to stop the ringing in her ears. She heard Rowanpaw call out her name, and another voice shouted Shadowpaw's name. Shadowpaw answered with a pitiful yowl, then a lot of coughing. Laurelpaw heard a liquid spatter the pebbly ground as she coughed. Laurelpaw recognized Longpaw's scent as he made his way towards Shadowpaw. The coughing stopped, and Laurelpaw could hear a steady dripping, which eventually ceased. Longpaw let out a terrifying wail. Sounds of battle began to die down, and Laurelpaw imagined that the cats would have stopped fighting to see what was the matter. Her head was starting to ache, along with her hind paw and belly. She heard clatters of stones as cats started to make their way down the streambed.

"Shadowpaw's dead." Longpaw wailed. One of the cats stopped moving near Longpaw.

"This must be the apprentice that she was fighting. He deserves to die for his crime." Laurelpaw was confused. They were talking about another cat, but who?

"Stop! Let that tom's neck go Cedartail!" Barkstar's voice rang out. The cat named Cedartail didn't respond to Barkstar, but Laurelpaw heard blood starting to drip down onto the pebbles again. Laurelpaw attempted to pull herself to her paws, but only managed to prop herself up on her forepaws. Opening her eyes, she saw a blood-spattered brown she-cat with blazing blue eyes holding the throat of a ginger tabby with black patches. His eyes were closed, and he hung limply as Cedartail slowly sunk her teeth deeper into his neck.

"Stop!" Laurelpaw wailed. Cedartail dropped the tom and whirled to face her. "I was fighting Shadowpaw, not him. She was leaping at me, and I reared up to meet her, and we both fell in backwards into the streambed." Laurelpaw mewed, and her vision started to spin once again. Cedartail started to move towards Laurelpaw, fur bristling.

"You killed my daughter. You deserve to die." She hissed. Laurelpaw collapsed onto the pebbly ground, unable to hold herself up any longer. She closed her eyes, letting the knowledge sink into her. She had killed a cat, a apprentice of another clan. Now that apprentice's mother was out for revenge, and there was nothing that Laurelpaw could do to stop her as she drifted into unconsciousness.


	12. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Laurelpaw thought that she heard voices. Stirring slightly in her nest, she became aware of another cat resting next to her. Opening her eyes, her vision was met with a mound of brown fur, and the familiar scent of Rowanpaw washed over her. His head was on his paws, green eyes staring at her. When Laurelpaw's grey eyes opened, he tried to say something, but Laurelpaw was having a hard time hearing. She also had a headache. Echowhisper and Streampaw rushed in, then started to try to ask Laurelpaw questions. She could barely hear anything they said, and couldn't understand what they were saying. Her headache was getting worse. Tilting her head to the side, Laurelpaw flicked her ears quizzically, Echowhisper, Streampaw, and Rowanpaw stared silently at her. Then Laurelpaw remembered the battle. She remembered Shadowpaw's face as she leapt at Laurelpaw, then her look of astonishment and fear when she saw where they were going to fall, she heard the thump of her body against the stones before her world erupted into pain and confusion. Laurelpaw remembered Cedartail's furious words

"You killed my daughter. You deserve to die."Curling herself into a ball, Laurelpaw put her paws over her ears in an attempt to block out Cedartail's voice. After a few moments, Rowanpaw's paw prodded her in the side, and Laurelpaw twisted herself to look up at him. He nudged a leaf with a few small black seeds towards her. Laurelpaw sniffed at it, disinterested in the seeds, but Rowanpaw beckoned that she should eat them, so Laurelpaw lapped them up and curled up, feeling sleepy. Rowanpaw settled down next to her, and started rasping his tongue over her fur, sending Laurelpaw off into sleep.

When Laurelpaw awoke again, Rowanpaw was asleep beside her. She could hear his gentle snores now, and the sounds of cats moving about in the clearing. Her headache was better too. Gently untangling her forepaws from Rowanpaw, she sat up, and glanced down at her fur. Her belly was swathed in cobwebs and covered in sticky poultice, while her hind paw that she had landed on wrong in the fight had some sort of leaves wrapped around it. All she could smell was herbs. Rowanpaw stirred beside her, then yawned, starting to wake up. Silentstep coughed from further inside the den, and Rowanpaw raised his head.

"You're awake! I should get Echowhisker..Can you hear me this time?" Rowanpaw asked. Laurelpaw nodded.

"I can hear a little better, but I still can't hear some of the quieter sounds." Rowanpaw gave a quick nod, then hurried out of the den. Laurelpaw noticed a freshly-caught water vole lying next to her nest. Realizing how hungry she was, Laurelpaw gulped it down in a few famished bites. She turned to groom her back, but as she turned, she noticed an orange tabby with black patches lying in a nest a tail-length away from her. Her grey eyes stretched open wide, and her jaw fell open. This was the tom from her dream the last moon! She stared at him, remembering every detail from her dream. Part of her wanted the tom to have green or amber eyes, but deep down, she knew they were blue. Echowhisker and Streampaw hurried into the den, and Laurelpaw's head whipped around.

"That's the cat from my dream." She mewed to them, causing Echowhisker to freeze in her tracks. Her tail-tip twitched.

"Tell me more about this dream you had." She said, mewing carefully.

"ForrestClan was fighting against us, then that tom came over a rise with the rising sun shining behind him. The fighting cats stopped, and one by one, they went back into their territories. The tom padded down the slope, and the cats moved aside for him. When he reached me, I didn't move aside, and he attacked me. He had blue eyes the color of the ocean too."Laurelpaw told Echowhisker her dream.

"Did you recognize any of the cats in your dream?" Echowhisker asked.

"Yeah, there was Ivyleaf, Burrtail, Squirrelfur, Dusktail, Leafeye, Rowanpaw, Crestpaw, Jaypaw, and me, and I could recognize Shadowpaw, Longpaw, the deputy of ForrestClan, the light brown tabby with darker brown stripes, Pricklepelt, and a some cats with funny spiky fur, though there was more cats with flat fur than spiky.." Laurelpaw trailed off, realizing that she was describing the cats that took place in the battle. Echowhisker was silent, and Streampaw stared at her with wide green eyes.

"So you think that tom was from your dream?" She mewed carefully. Laurelpaw nodded her head.

"I'm almost sure of it. I just need to see his eyes." She said. Echowhisker padded over to the tom, then carefully used one of her forepaws to raise the tom's eye lid. A ocean-blue eye stared up at Echowhisker, and she carefully lowered his eye lid again.

"Looks like you're right about his eyes. I'm going to speak with Barkstar about this, but in the meantime, I'm asking you to rest, and if you feel feverish or unwell, please come and get me." Echowhisker mewed.

"I'll go and get you if anything is wrong." Rowanpaw mewed, settling back down next to her. Echowhisker dipped her head in thanks, then padded out of the den with Streampaw. Rowanpaw stared at her with his huge green eyes.

"Do you think that could have been a dream from StarClan?" He asked.

"I don't know.." Laurelpaw replied. "But if it was, why would they send a dream to me, an apprentice of SwampClan, when there are other, better, warriors to warn?" She asked. Rowanpaw shrugged.

"Perhaps you're really special, like the next leader of SwampClan or something. Or you could do something really cool that would save the clan, or even perhaps go on a great journey!" He mewed, starting to get excited. Laurelpaw frowned.

"Why would I go on a journey about that tom? The other cats in the dream seemed to respect him, perhaps there's something special about him, not me, but StarClan needed to tell him through me, because..." Laurelpaw trailed off, not sure of what to say next. Rowanpaw started to groom her unkempt fur, and she turned, and started rasping her tongue across his brown fur. After a while, Barkstar, Echowhisker, and Streampaw came back in the medicine cat den. Laurelpaw and Rowanpaw looked up, and Barkstar and Echowhisker sat down.

"Streampaw, Rowanpaw, please go outside of the den." Barkstar said. Both apprentices ducked their heads before heading out of the den.

"Is what Echowhisker tells me true? Did you have a dream about the battle and this cat?" Barkstar asked. Laurelpaw nodded. "Is this cat a ForrestClan cat?" Laurelpaw shook her head. The tom hadn't seemed to be from either clan in her dream.

"The tom was walking down the center of the battlefield, and I think he would have kept on going to the sea, if I hadn't stood in his path." Echowhisker's head shot up, her odd-colored eyes stretched wide.

"Barkstar, what about the finch that was found killed by ForrestClan? The one that was a sign from StarClan? The tiny white notch on the feather, could this be a cat from an unknown fourth clan?" Barkstar thought for a moment.

"That is possible. But for now, we have to be cautious. This tom could be a spy from that clan, and the dream shown to Laurelpaw could mean that he has hostile intentions. Call me when the tom wakes up, or if he says anything."

Echowhisker dipped her head in acknowledgement. "Did you notice any cats in your dream that you thought were from SwampClan but you didn't know?" Barkstar asked. Laurelpaw paused, thinking hard.

"Yeah, there was this one she-cat that was just standing there, staring at me. She had amber eyes, and she was a tan spotted tabby with dark brown stripes." Barkstar and Echowhisker stiffened.

"Did she have any scars?" Barkstar asked.

"Yeah, she did, she had a crescent shaped scar on her left side, and four scars that started out wide then tapered down to a point on her hind leg. I couldn't see her other side though." Laurelpaw mewed.

"That was Falconstar. She was the previous leader of this clan before Barkstar. She died in a battle right after Barkstar was made deputy. Few living cats today remember her as their leader." Echowhisker mewed, then flashed a glance at Barkstar.

"Thank you for telling us this." He mewed. "Follow me outside Echowhisker, and you can send in the apprentices. Laurelpaw, do not speak of Falconstar unless you see her again in your dreams."Barkstar told Laurelpaw, then left with Echowhisker. Silentstep gave a shuddering gasp.

"Falconstar?" Silentstep let out a wail. "Fogcloud, don't go, please don't go with her.." Silentstep's voice trailed off into a series of coughs. Streampaw heard this, and running into the den, went straight to Silentstep. Sticking out a paw, she carefully felt Silentstep's fur, then took off, careening out of the den, causing Rowanpaw to leap to the side to get out of her way. He looked quizzically at Laurelpaw.

"What was that all about?" He asked. Laurelpaw shrugged. Echowhisker came tearing into the den, then skidded to a stop beside Silentstep. Flattening her ears, Echowhisker turned to the apprentices.

"Laurelpaw, Rowanpaw, go back to your den. Get a warrior to help carry the tom with you. You can rest in your den, you can't stay here any longer."Echowhisker's eyes were dilated with fear, and her fur was starting to bristle. Rowanpaw helped Laurelpaw to her paws, then allowed her to lean on him as she stumbled out of the den. When Laurelpaw had settled down outside of the den, Rowanpaw ran and grabbed Lightfur to help them move the tom to the apprentices' den. She took the tom's scruff in her mouth, then lifted him and carried him to the apprentices' den, his tail and hind legs dragging over the packed dirt of the clearing. Rowanpaw ran over to Laurelpaw and helped her across the clearing. She collapsed into her nest, and lay unmoving for a while. Her belly was on fire, her headache was back, and the hind paw wrapped in leaves was starting to ache. Laurelpaw lowered her head to paws, closed her eyes, and fell asleep.


	13. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

A paw prodded Laurelpaw in her shoulder. Stifling a moan, Laurelpaw raised her head and opened her eyes, to be met by an ocean-blue stare. The tom was awake, and staring at her.

"Hey, I'm Laurelpaw. What's your name?" Laurelpaw asked the tom. The tom blinked, then replied,

"I'm Rising. Where am I? I was traveling, and I came across a huge group of fighting cats! I tried to run away, but this cat attacked me, and I can't remember much after that.."Rising said. Laurelpaw blinked. Rising was an odd name.

"You're in SwampClan, one of-"Rising interrupted Laurelpaw.

"SwampClan? One of the four clans? Where's IslandClan?" Rising asked. Laurelpaw looked at him quizzically.

"What's IslandClan? There's only SwampClan, StoneClan, and ForrestClan living here. I've never heard of an IslandClan." She replied. Rising's tail lowered, and he looked downcast.

"Why do you ask? How do you know of the clans?" Laurelpaw asked him.

"A long time ago, one of my ancestors, Sunfall, was chosen by a StarClan cat to preserve his clan's legacy. He was given a prophecy, and was told to spread the ways of the clans. He became a rogue, and wandered until he found a place to settle. He tried to make IslandClan again, but some disease came, and the clan fell apart. His mate survived though, and all of his kits were taught to teach their kits his story and beliefs, and carry on his mission. My mother taught me about this, so once I was old enough to leave her, I left, and my paw steps were guided by StarClan to here." Rising finished speaking.

"Why don't you come with me to meet our leader and medicine cat." Laurelpaw mewed. She hauled herself to her paws, and turned to see Rising struggling to his paws also. He started to pad around the other sleeping apprentices to reach Laurelpaw.

"How's your neck doing?" Laurelpaw asked.

"It's a bit sore, and hurts when I turn my head, but it seems like it's healing really fast!" Rising replied. Laurelpaw turned and limped out of the den, and led Rising to Barkstar's den. The moon was starting to fade from the sky, and the dawn was slowly giving away to morning. Laurelpaw and Rising reached Barkstar's den, and asked permission before entering, to find Barkstar and Echowhisker sitting, tails wrapped around their paws.

"Rising woke up, so I brought him here." Laurelpaw said.

"Rising?" Echowhisker asked. Laurelpaw stepped aside to let Rising enter the den. At Barkstar's request, he told his story to Barkstar and Echowhisker. Barkstar was silent while Echowhisker asked him more questions about StarClan and his family. Echowhisker paused, and her eyes went blank as sunlight from the morning sun broke through the den entrance, and bathed Rising in golden light. Her eyes focused, and she asked Rising and Laurelpaw to exit the den for a few moments. Laurelpaw was able to catch a few words from their conversation, but she was unable to figure out why Echowhisker asked them to leave the den. Barkstar padded out of his den, head bent. His eyes found Laurelpaw and Rising sitting together a few tail lengths away.

"Rising, would you like to be accepted as an apprentice of SwampClan and be taught the ways of a warrior?" Rising looked at him with huge blue eyes.

"I could? Really? You'd have me?" Rising ducked his head, composed his thoughts, then said,

"Thanks, I'd be happy to accept your offer, and I'll try my hardest to become a warrior to be proud of. I am ready to receive my apprentice name now, as I am over six moons old." Barkstar nodded, then said,

"We'll have your ceremony when Echowhisker thinks you've recovered enough to train. Laurelpaw, you can show him around camp and teach him the warrior code. Let him meet the other warriors, elders, apprentices of SwampClan. If he is given any trouble, come to me. I'll make an announcement when most of the cats are awake." Laurelpaw bent her head, then turned and started to show Rising the camp.

"This is the apprentice's den, where you'll be sleeping. The other apprentices sleep in there also, and you'll meet them soon. We'll all be training to become warriors together. Over there is the warriors' den, where you'll sleep if you're a warrior. You've already seen Barkstar's den, and I don't think we're allowed in the medicine cat's den, as there is a sick cat in there now. The elders' den is where elderly cats rest after they get old in the service of their clan. The nursery is where queens rest before they have their kits and where they stay with their kits until they're apprenticed. Right now it's empty so we can check it out." Laurelpaw and Rising padded over to the nursery, and entered it. It was dark inside, and there was no moss on the dirt ground.

"It's much better when there's a queen and her kits in here. The kits are so adorable, and sometimes they'll pester you to teach you hunting or fighting moves. They'll have play fights, and sometimes worry the clan sick into thinking another clan is attacking." Laurelpaw grinned. "When I was a kit, my sister and I, Fernkit, pretended that ForrestClan was attacking. We had almost all of the warriors out of their nests and in the clearing ready to fight before you could say mouse."Rising grinned too, and together they padded out of the nursery and sat in the clearing, while Laurelpaw told Rising stories of clan life, taught him the warrior code, and told him about the other clans. They watched as the sun started to rise above the horizon, and one by one, cats emerged from their dens and watched silently.


	14. Chapter 11

Chapter 10

A paw prodded Laurelpaw in her shoulder. Stifling a moan, Laurelpaw raised her head and opened her eyes, to be met by an ocean-blue stare. The tom was awake, and staring at her.

"Hey, I'm Laurelpaw. What's your name?" Laurelpaw asked the tom. The tom blinked, then replied,

"I'm Rising. Where am I? I was traveling, and I came across a huge group of fighting cats! I tried to run away, but this cat attacked me, and I can't remember much after that.."Rising said. Laurelpaw blinked. Rising was an odd name.

"You're in SwampClan, one of-"Rising interrupted Laurelpaw.

"SwampClan? One of the four clans? Where's IslandClan?" Rising asked. Laurelpaw looked at him quizzically.

"What's IslandClan? There's only SwampClan, StoneClan, and ForrestClan living here. I've never heard of an IslandClan." She replied. Rising's tail lowered, and he looked downcast.

"Why do you ask? How do you know of the clans?" Laurelpaw asked him.

"A long time ago, one of my ancestors, Sunfall, was chosen by a StarClan cat to preserve his clan's legacy. He was given a prophecy, and was told to spread the ways of the clans. He became a rogue, and wandered until he found a place to settle. He tried to make IslandClan again, but some disease came, and the clan fell apart. His mate survived though, and all of his kits were taught to teach their kits his story and beliefs, and carry on his mission. My mother taught me about this, so once I was old enough to leave her, I left, and my paw steps were guided by StarClan to here." Rising finished speaking.

"Why don't you come with me to meet our leader and medicine cat." Laurelpaw mewed. She hauled herself to her paws, and turned to see Rising struggling to his paws also. He started to pad around the other sleeping apprentices to reach Laurelpaw.

"How's your neck doing?" Laurelpaw asked.

"It's a bit sore, and hurts when I turn my head, but it seems like it's healing really fast!" Rising replied. Laurelpaw turned and limped out of the den, and led Rising to Barkstar's den. The moon was starting to fade from the sky, and the dawn was slowly giving away to morning. Laurelpaw and Rising reached Barkstar's den, and asked permission before entering, to find Barkstar and Echowhisker sitting, tails wrapped around their paws.

"Rising woke up, so I brought him here." Laurelpaw said.

"Rising?" Echowhisker asked. Laurelpaw stepped aside to let Rising enter the den. At Barkstar's request, he told his story to Barkstar and Echowhisker. Barkstar was silent while Echowhisker asked him more questions about StarClan and his family. Echowhisker paused, and her eyes went blank as sunlight from the morning sun broke through the den entrance, and bathed Rising in golden light. Her eyes focused, and she asked Rising and Laurelpaw to exit the den for a few moments. Laurelpaw was able to catch a few words from their conversation, but she was unable to figure out why Echowhisker asked them to leave the den. Barkstar padded out of his den, head bent. His eyes found Laurelpaw and Rising sitting together a few tail lengths away.

"Rising, would you like to be accepted as an apprentice of SwampClan and be taught the ways of a warrior?" Rising looked at him with huge blue eyes.

"I could? Really? You'd have me?" Rising ducked his head, composed his thoughts, then said,

"Thanks, I'd be happy to accept your offer, and I'll try my hardest to become a warrior to be proud of. I am ready to receive my apprentice name now, as I am over six moons old." Barkstar nodded, then said,

"We'll have your ceremony when Echowhisker thinks you've recovered enough to train. Laurelpaw, you can show him around camp and teach him the warrior code. Let him meet the other warriors, elders, apprentices of SwampClan. If he is given any trouble, come to me. I'll make an announcement when most of the cats are awake." Laurelpaw bent her head, then turned and started to show Rising the camp.

"This is the apprentice's den, where you'll be sleeping. The other apprentices sleep in there also, and you'll meet them soon. We'll all be training to become warriors together. Over there is the warriors' den, where you'll sleep if you're a warrior. You've already seen Barkstar's den, and I don't think we're allowed in the medicine cat's den, as there is a sick cat in there now. The elders' den is where elderly cats rest after they get old in the service of their clan. The nursery is where queens rest before they have their kits and where they stay with their kits until they're apprenticed. Right now it's empty so we can check it out." Laurelpaw and Rising padded over to the nursery, and entered it. It was dark inside, and there was no moss on the dirt ground.

"It's much better when there's a queen and her kits in here. The kits are so adorable, and sometimes they'll pester you to teach you hunting or fighting moves. They'll have play fights, and sometimes worry the clan sick into thinking another clan is attacking." Laurelpaw grinned. "When I was a kit, my sister and I, Fernkit, pretended that ForrestClan was attacking. We had almost all of the warriors out of their nests and in the clearing ready to fight before you could say mouse."Rising grinned too, and together they padded out of the nursery and sat in the clearing, while Laurelpaw told Rising stories of clan life, taught him the warrior code, and told him about the other clans. They watched as the sun started to rise above the horizon, and one by one, cats emerged from their dens and watched silently.


	15. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

Laurelpaw limped to the medicine cat's den as fast as she could.

"Echowhisper! Snowpelt is coughing!" Laurelpaw mewed. Echowhisper's head shot up from where she was sniffing Silentstep's pelt.

"Streampaw! Stay with Silentstep and fetch me if she gets any worse!" Echowhisper ordered Streampaw, who settled herself down beside Silentstep. Echowhisper breezed across the clearing. Laurelpaw struggled after her, then looked up as a yellow leaf spiraled down past her nose. Leaf-fall was here, and with it brought a shortage of prey, or at least that's what Lightfur told her. Laurelpaw waited outside of the elder's den until Echowhisper led a wheezing Snowpelt out. Parchnose hovered anxiously at the entrance, and called out

"Don't worry, I'll see you soon once you get better."Snowpelt turned around to stare at him, but was nudged along by Echowhisper.

"Do you mind telling Jaypaw and Rowanpaw to clean out the bedding in the elders den? It's best if we do that as quick as possible so there's less of a chance that Parchnose will catch the cough that's going around."Laurelpaw ducked her head, then padded away. She found both toms asleep in their nests. She roused Rowanpaw first, told him what to do, and then roused Jaypaw. His sleepy brown eyes blinked a few times, then became cold when he recognized Laurelpaw.

"You and Rowanpaw have to clean out the elder's den and fetch fresh bedding." Laurelpaw told him before limping over to her nest and settling down into it. She rested her head on her paws, and watched as Jaypaw stalked out of the den, tail held high, while Rowanpaw tossed a glance over his shoulder before padding out of the den, black tail swishing.

Laurelpaw spent most of the day in the den, watching Rising's flank rise and fall. When the sky started to grow dark, Laurelpaw realized how hungry she was and limped over towards the fresh-kill pile. Seeing Lightfur sharing tongues with Dusktail, she asked Lightfur permission to take something for her and Rising from the fresh-kill pile. Lightfur bent her grey and black head, and Laurelpaw padded over, selected a mouse and a thrush, then went back to the apprentices' den. Rising was sitting up in his nest, grooming one of his legs. When Laurelpaw entered, he raised his head, and asked,

"Are you planning on eating that thrush?" Laurelpaw shook her head, then dropped the prey at the side of his nest. He snagged the thrush with a claw, then asked if they could eat outside the den. Laurelpaw agreed that this would be a nice idea, so they ate their meal outside of the apprentices' den.

"So, Laurelpaw, who are your parents?" Rising asked. Laurelpaw looked around, then pointed out Mouseclaw and Leafeye sitting next to each other near the fresh-kill pile.

"The two cats over there, Mouseclaw, the brown tabby, and Leafeye, the light brown cat. Who are your parents and what did they look like?" Laurelpaw asked Rising. He finished crunching on a piece of thrush before answering.

"My mother is called Tree, she is a tortishell she-cat with green eyes and a black marking on her back that looks like a tree. My father was called Shell. He was an orange tabby with black patches and blue eyes, just like me." Laurelpaw paused before asking,

"You said that your parents taught you the warrior code and the ways of a warrior. Why didn't they have warrior names?" Rising blinked, then replied,

"I think it was because there was no leader to give any cat their warrior name. We didn't live in a Clan or anything, we were rogues, but we had a little patch of territory that we called our home. We slept under the roots of a tree, and Shell was always patrolling the borders and driving off stray cats who wandered into our territory. Tree would tell us stories that Shell told her, and that was our education about the Clans. If Shell got back early from hunting and patrolling, then he'd tell us stories about IslandClan. One day, a group of cats who were angry about not being able to come into our territory ambushed Shell and killed him. Tree, Sky, and I ran away, but I got separated from Tree and Sky. I remembered the stories of Sunfall's flight from the territories, and found my way back." Laurelpaw stopped eating her mouse.

"Who's Sunfall? And is Sky your littermate?" Rising finished his thrush, then answered,

"Sunfall was the last warrior of IslandClan. And yes, Sky is my littermate."Laurelpaw heaved herself to her paws, and glanced at Rising's thrush.

"Do you want me to burry that for you?" She asked. Rising grabbed it before getting to his paws.

"No thanks, I know how to give thanks to StarClan for the prey that we have eaten. Do we burry the prey outside of the tunnel?" Rising asked. Laurelpaw dipped her head, and then lead the way out of the tunnel. There was a patch of brown earth, untouched by reeds or grasses. Laurelpaw scooped a few pawfulls of earth out of the ground, then placed what was left of her mouse into the hole. Scraping the earth over it once again, Laurelpaw gave thanks for having enough prey to eat right now in Leaf fall. She glanced at Rising, who had his head bent and his eyes closed. After a moment, his ocean blue eyes opened, and stared at Laurelpaw. She froze at his gaze, so much like the gaze of him leaping at her in her dream. Could this cat really hurt her sometime in the future? Should she be cautious around him? Or should she be kind to him and accept him as a normal apprentice? Laurelpaw shook her head. That was too much to wonder about now. It was time they went back to the apprentice's den. Laurelpaw limped ahead of Rising, and they entered the apprentice's den, where Crestpaw and Jaypaw were already asleep. Settling down into her nest, Laurelpaw closed her eyes.

Author's Note: I'm working on a wiki with a friend about Stormfront. There, you will be able to find cats, their family members, descriptions of territories, images of cats, and a map of the territories. If you have found any mistakes in Stormfront so far, please hold onto them until I can get the wiki up and running (which will mean that I'll have a description and history of every cat in the allegiances and mentioned as parents and/or siblings/deceased cats, ect… At this time, I'll also be working on drawing images of each cat, which I already have templates for each stage of a warrior's life, including kit, apprentice, medicine cat apprentice, warrior, medicine cat, and elder, and I'm almost done with the leader template. Would you like to see a wiki on Stormfront? Send me a pm, and I'll work even harder on it to finish it sooner for you. Reviews on Stormfront are also appreiciated!


	16. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

"Risingpaw! Risingpaw! Risingpaw!" SwampClan chanted Risingpaw's new name. His wounds from the battle had healed, along with the rest of the cats who had injuries. The battle was just another fight that the warriors had participated in, but for the apprentices, it had been a memorable one. Barkstar had decided to take Risingpaw as his apprentice, which was an unusual occurance. Laurelpaw had noticed in her days spent at camp that Lightfur and Echowhisper visited Barkstar a lot. She had occasionally overheard Echowhisper and Barkstar talking about Risingpaw, worried about motives. Ivyleaf had moved into the nursery, and Squirrelfur had stepped into her role of deputy easily, as if he had been made for the position. Parchnose had caught the cough that the elders had, so now all of them were confined to the medicine cat's den. Laurelpaw was worried about Silentstep. She hadn't seen the elderly she-cat for days. When she had been sick before, she often lurked around the entrance to the medicine cat's den, but she had been absent from her place for a while. Laurelpaw was starting to get worried. She saw Echowhisper slip away from the crowd of cats congratulating Risingpaw, and pad into the den. Streampaw coagulated Risingpaw, and then quickly padded after her mentor. As she watched Streampaw pad away, Laurelpaw noticed Burrtail lead a coughing Dewtail away from the crowd, towards the medicine cat den. A flash of grey and black fur caught Laurelpaw's eye. Thinking it was Lightfur, Laurelpaw spun around only to be confronted by Ivyleaf's huge form. Laurelpaw decided that she was defiantly expecting kits. Dusktail moved over to her, gave her a lick on the ear, and together they moved towards the nursery. Crestpaw had overheard Echowhisker telling Ivyleaf that her kits would be coming sometime in the next half moon, and before all of the apprentices had settled down into their nests, Crestpaw had shared the news with them. The apprentices pestered Jaypaw about Dusktail, his mentor, to see how often he mentioned Ivyleaf when they were training together. Eventually, Dusktail came into the den to tell them to quiet down, Ivyleaf was trying to sleep. Embarassed at being caught, all the young cats had ducked their heads and muttered a,

"Yes Dusktail." Dusktail wore a bemused expression on his face.  
>"It's not every day when I see all of you so quiet and respectful of me. Could you have been gossiping about a cat?" Rowanpaw's fur and Crestpaw's fur had started to prickle. Laurelpaw had felt her fur start to get hot under Dusktail's blue stare.<p>

"Be quiet now, and sleep well, there's going to be battle training tomorrow." Crestpaw let out of a yowl of excitement, which she quickly clamped her jaw shut after realizing how noisy she was being. Laurelpaw had turned over in her nest, and had fallen asleep after a few warriors had charged out of the warrior's den, fur fluffed up. Shaking her head, Laurelpaw broke out of her thoughts; Lightfur was calling her over for battle training. Barkstar, Risingpaw, Dusktail, Jaypaw, Leafeye, Rowanpaw, Squirrelfur, Crestpaw, and Lightfur were already waiting by the tunnel. Laurelpaw ran over to them, and as a large group, they left for the sandy hollow. As the warriors and their apprentices ran through the forest, Laurelpaw was struck with the realization that she was growing bigger. Her tail had grown longer, and now her head reached up to Lightfur's shoulders rather than to her side. Crestpaw, Rowanpaw, and Streampaw were also Laurelpaw's size, despite being younger than her.

The group of cats started to slow as they came to the river. They followed it for a little while, and then split off from it at a gnarled oak tree. After padding past it, Rowanpaw fell into step beside Laurelpaw.

"I wonder what fighting moves we'll learn today!" He mewed excitedly.

"Perhaps when you get there you'll find out." Leafeye's mew broke into Laurelpaw's reply. She looked up into the green eyes of her mother, closed her jaw, and kept on padding through the swamp growth. They reached the sandy hollow, an old dried out streambed where a large amount of sand had collected over time. Squirrelfur and Dusktail stopped in the center of the clearing, went over what moves they would be practicing.

"First, we'll go over basics." Squirrelfur mewed. "First, what is the difference between a front paw blow and a front paw strike? Jaypaw."Jaypaw looked up, then mewed,

"A front paw blow is with claws sheathed, and a front paw strike is with claws unsheathed." Squirrelfur dipped his head.

"Very good Jaypaw. We will not be practicing real front paw strikes, because you are to keep your claws sheathed during training sessions. Now, what is the advantage of using your teeth to grip an opponent's scruff over using your paws to grip an opponent's scruff? Rowanpaw."Rowanpaw paused for a few moments before replying.

"When you use your teeth, you still have your claws free to fight, but if you're using your claws to hold onto your opponent, then you don't have good balance on their back and they could easily throw you off."Squirrelfur dipped his head again.

"Laurelpaw, what is the advantage of fighting in pairs?" Laurelpaw stared at Squirrelfur, feeling her pelt get hot under his calm brown gaze.

"Fighting in pairs allows you to fend off an opponent while having another cat protect your back so you won't get jumped. It also allows you to team up against tough opponents." Squirrelfur's gaze shifted to Dusktail.

"Now let's go over parts of a cat's body that we can use against them." Squirrelfur ran a forepaw over Dusktail's hind leg. "You see this right here?" He indicated the place where Dusktail's leg bent. "If you can press both of your paws together around this at once, focusing on the back of his leg, the leg will buckle." Squirrelfur moved to the side, then moving in a blur, he leapt forwards and clapped both of his forepaws around Dusktail's hind leg. Dusktail let out a pained hiss as his leg buckled and he fell to the ground.

"We have to be careful about using this move during training. It can hurt another cat if you put too much pressure on the leg. Let's practice balancing on our hind legs now. Mentors, please assist your apprentices as needed, and after they have managed to balance for an appropriate period of time, you may train them as you wish." Laurelpaw looked over to Lightfur, who was standing to her side. She gave Laurelpaw a small nod, and Laurelpaw reared up onto her hind legs, forepaws batting at the air. She kept her forepaws churning the air in front of her, until she decided that it would be a good idea to take a step. Her hind paws skidded out from underneath her, and she went lurching into Lightfur's side. Lightfur let out an amused purr, then staggered dramatically to one side, then fell over, covering her and Laurelpaw's coat with sand. Laurelpaw shook her head, and then looked around. Barkstar was off in a far corner of the sandy hollow, while the other mentors and their apprentices were scattered loosely at the center. Lightfur was shaking sand out of her pelt, and then started to mew something when a stricken yowl sounded through the trees. The warrior's ears pricked at the sound, before Squirrelfur yowled,

"It's from the camp!" Barkstar tore off through the trees, the rest of the warriors and apprentices streaming behind them. It seemed like a few moments passed, and the group was in camp. Echowhisper was dragging the limp body of a cat into the center of the clearing. With a feeling of dread, Laurelpaw recognized the scarred brown tabby. Silentstep had died.


	17. Updated Clan Allegiances 2

Swampclan

Leader: Barkstar - Brown tabby (black) with green eyes

Apprentice: Risingpaw

Deputy: Ivyleaf - Grey tabby (black) she-cat with green eyes (Expecting kits)

Medicine Cat: Echowhisper - Grey and white tabby (black) with a blue left eye and a green right eye

Apprentice: Streampaw

WARRIORS

Lightfur - Grey spotted tabby (black) she-cat with green eyes

Apprentice: Laurelpaw

Burrtail - Brown tom with black points and amber eyes

Squirrelfur - Orange tabby (dark orange) tom with brown eyes(temporary Deputy)

Apprentice: Crestpaw

Dewtail - Dark grey she-cat with green eyes

Dusktail - Light brown spotted tabby (dark brown) tom with a white chest and paws. Blue eyes.

Apprentice: Jaypaw

Mouseclaw -Brown tabby (black) tom with grey eyes

Leafeye - Light brown she-cat with green eyes

Apprentice: Rowanpaw

APPRENTICES

Laurelpaw - Brown and light brown patched she-cat with grey eyes

Jaypaw - Golden tabby (grey) tom with black front paws and muzzle. White hind paws and tip of tail. Brown eyes.

Rowanpaw - Brown tom with green eyes and a black tail

Crestpaw -Grey she-cat with amber eyes and white paws

Streampaw -Dark grey she-cat with green eyes

Risingpaw -Orange tabby (dark orange) tom with black patches and ocean-blue eyes

QUEENS AND KITS

Ivyleaf - Grey tabby (black) she-cat with green eyes, Expecting Dusktail's kits

ELDERS

Parchnose - Golden tabby (black) tom with grey eyes and black paws

Snowpelt - Tortishell she-cat with brown eyes and a white tail

Stoneclan

Leader: Shalestar - Grey tom with blue eyes

Deputy: Blacktail - Small black and white patched she-cat with brown eyes

Medicine Cat: Duskstripe -White and grey patched tabby (black) tom with green eyes

Apprentice: Robinpaw

WARRIORS

Birdwing - Light grey she-cat with amber eyes

Apprentice: Branchpaw

Iceeye - Large white tabby (black) tom with light blue eyes

Apprentice: Thornpaw

Stripedpelt - Grey tabby (black) tom with light green eyes and a torn left ear

Ashtree - Grey tom with green eyes

Moonwater - Light grey tabby (black) she-cat with green eyes

Silverwhisker - Small light grey spotted tabby(dark grey) she-cat with green eyes

Nightfire - Black she-cat with amber eyes

Ambereye - Black she-cat with amber eyes

Hailpelt - Black and grey patched she-cat with blue eyes

APPRENTICES

Robinpaw - Small brown she-cat with a sorrel chest, belly, and tail. Brown eyes

Branchpaw - Brown tabby (black) tom with black paws and amber eyes

Thornpaw - Brown tom with brown eyes

QUEENS AND KITS

Suntail - Golden she-cat with amber eyes, mother of Ashtree's kits-

Snowkit - Grey she-cat with amber eyes

Sharpkit - Dark grey tom with green eyes

Auroafur - Small white she-cat with grey eyes, Expecting ?'s kits (believed to be Sharpice's)

ELDERS

Driftblown - White tabby (black) tom with blue eyes

Shallowstream - Grey she-cat with blue eyes. Is missing half of her tail.

Forrestclan

Leader: Thicketstar - Brown spotted tabby (black) she-cat with brown eyes and spiky fur

Deputy: Pinetail - Light brown tabby (dark brown) tom with green eyes

Medicine Cat: Antclaw - Small black tom with a scarred muzzle and shoulder, brown eyes, previously a warrior

WARRIORS

Cedartail - Brown she-cat with blue eyes

Brightshine - Blue-grey tom with blue eyes and a scarred left leg

Tornwhisker - Orange tabby(dark orange) she-cat with blue eyes

Apprentice: Longpaw

Thistlepelt - Brown tabby (black) tom with green eyes and spiky fur

Fishstreak - Blue-grey she-cat with grey eyes

Apprentice: Acornpaw

Cloudfoot - Brown tom with white paws and brown eyes

Embertail - White and orange patched tabby (dark orange) she-cat with a orange striped tail and green eyes

Pricklepelt - Blue-grey tom with spiky fur and grey eyes

APPRENTICES

Longpaw - Grey tabby tom with green eyes and long black legs

Acornpaw - Small light brown tom with brown eyes

QUEENS AND KITS

Softbreeze - Tortishell she-cat with amber eyes, mother of Pinetail's ktis-

Foxkit - Brown tom with amber eyes

Patchkit - Tortishell she-cat with green eyes

Shadekit - Brown tabby (black) tom with amber eyes

ELDERS

Spikefur - Brown spotted tabby she-cat with brown eyes and spiky fur

Wintersky - Blue-grey tom with blue eyes

Ancient Islandclan

Leader: Palmstar - Cream she-cat with brown paws and green eyes

Deputy: Crabclaw - Ginger she-cat with green eyes

Medicine Cat: Foamtail - Light blue-grey tom with grey eyes

WARRIORS

Darkstone - Black tom with blue eyes

Waveripple - Blue-grey she-cat with grey eyes

Apprentice: Splashpaw

Pooltail - Light grey tom with blue eyes

Stoneclaw - Dark grey she-cat with green eyes

Apprentice: Mistpaw

Minnowscale -Blue-grey tom with grey eyes

Rockpelt -Grey and dark grey patched she-cat with blue eyes

Sandpelt - Cream tom with brown points and green eyes

Sunfall - Black and ginger patched tom with blue eyes

Pillarleg - Brown she-cat with long legs and grey eyes

APPRENTICES

Mistpaw -Blue-grey she-cat with blue eyes

Splashpaw -Blue-grey tom with blue eyes

Driftpaw -Brown she-cat with grey eyes. Held back due to a leg injury.

QUEENS/KITS

Otterfur -Brown she-cat with blue eyes, expecting Pooltail's kits

ELDERS

Shinystone -Dark grey tom with blue eyes

Shorttail -Cream she-cat with half of a tail and brown eyes

Tidefur -Blue-grey tom with grey eyes

Flashpelt -Blue-grey she-cat with blue eyes


	18. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

Leafeye, Barkstar, Dusktail, Burrtail, and Mouseclaw kept Silentstep's vigil that night. They all sat quietly with their heads bent. Laurelpaw watched them for a while before falling asleep, tired from the start of the training session and having to clean out the nursery. The medicine cat's den was filling up with coughing cats. Parchnose, Snowpelt, and Dewtail were already in there, but Laurelpaw was afraid that some of the other warriors and apprentices would start to get sick too.

Laurelpaw woke to sunlight streaming through the entrance to the den. Barkstar and Mouseclaw were coming back through the tunnel, brown pelts coated with a fine layer of dirt. As Laurelpaw watched the two toms pad across the clearing, Mouseclaw's paw steps faltered, and he began to cough. Laurelpaw sprung out of her nest and raced over to her father, but Barkstar blocked her path with his black striped tail.

"It's time you went to the medicine cat's den. Let Echowhisper check you out. That's an order." Barkstar mewed to Mouseclaw. Mouseclaw bent his head, and then padded slowly to Echowhisper's den, wheezing as lurched along. Barkstar looked down at Laurelpaw with sad green eyes.

"You must not get close to any sick cats. Being close to the cats could make you sick too. I'll make an announcement on highbranch now." Laurelpaw bent her head, and then sat in the clearing.

"All cats of SwampClan who are old enough to catch their own prey gather below highbranch for a Clan meeting!" Barkstar yowled his summons to the clan. Cats started to gather below him.

"Cats of SwampClan. There is bad news to share with you. Greencough is in the camp. It will be a hard winter if it is here this early in the season. StarClan willing, we will not lose any more cats. If you see or hear a cat coughing, please send them to the medicine cat's den. If you have been injured, please wait in outside the medicine cat's den and ask for help, do not go inside. That is all." Barkstar leapt down from highbranch and padded up to Squirrelfur, and they began to discuss patrols. Laurelpaw looked over to her side and saw Rowanpaw looking over at Dusktail. He was carrying a lizard to the nursery.

"Do you think Ivyleaf's kits will come soon?"Rowanpaw asked Laurelpaw.

"I think so; the last time I saw her she sure looked huge!"Laurelpaw replied. Lightfur padded up the two apprentices, and took Laurelpaw away to hunt. They headed towards the rabbit warrens, where they reviewed hunting moves for both rabbits and lizards, before splitting up to hunt. By the time the sun was high in the sky, Laurelpaw had only caught a small lizard. Lightfur hadn't done much better, and had caught a small rabbit. The two she-cats trekked through the swamp back to the camp. As Laurelpaw put her lizard on top of the fresh-kill pile, she was shocked at how small it seemed already. The only thing the patrols had brought in was a couple of thrushes, three lizards, two rabbits, and a crow. A leaf spiraled past her nose, causing Laurelpaw to jump up and pin it to the ground.

"Good catch, but leaves won't fill bellies." Lightfur mewed from behind her. Laurelpaw felt her pelt get hot with embarrassment. "How about you take one of those rabbits to the nursery for Dusktail and Ivyleaf to share? I think that they'd appreciate that." Laurelpaw dipped her head, grabbed a rabbit, and then dragged it across the clearing to the nursery. Ivyleaf was curled up in her nest, with Dusktail grooming her striped fur. Laurelpaw dropped the rabbit at the edge of Ivyleaf's nest. She muttered a thanks, and then dragged it closer to her with one paw. Laurelpaw left the nursery and followed Lightfur's scent trail to Barkstar's den.

"I'm having your kits."Laurelpaw froze. Lightfur was Barkstar's mate? Laurelpaw hadn't known. She heard Barkstar purring happily, and Laurelpaw purposely stepped on a leaf. It crackled underpaw, and she mewed,

"Lightfur, are you in there?" Lightfur's head popped out of the den.

"What should I be doing now?" Lightfur paused for a moment, then mewed,

"You can have the rest of the day off to relax. Tomorrow will be battle training, so rest up." Laurelpaw ducked her head, and then padded off, head spinning. It seemed like every she-cat had kits! As a she-cat, was she expected to have kits too? Laurelpaw waited for Leafeye to come back from her patrol. When she saw her mother coming through the tunnel carrying a finch, Laurelpaw bounded over to her and asked to speak to her. Leafeye ducked her head, padded over to the fresh-kill pile, dropped the finch, and then padded back to Laurelpaw.

"What is it Laurelpaw?" She asked, starting to lick her head.

"Mother, I feel like every she-cat is expected to have kits. It seems like every single she-cat has kits. Is it expected of every she-cat to have kits?"Laurelpaw asked. Leafeye grinned at her.

"No, no she-cats have to have kits, but when two cats love each other very much, kits happen. They're symbols of love between two cats. It is a great honor to be a queen in the Clan, but no, you don't have to become a queen and have kits if you don't want too." Laurelpaw licked her mother's cheek before mewing a quick goodbye and scampering off to the apprentice's den.

**Author's Note: **A question to readers, who do you want Laurelpaw's mate to be? Should she make up with Jaypaw or keep romancing Rowanpaw? Send me a pm and tell me what you think! Those that do will get a Silentstep plushie!


	19. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

"Squirrelfur, Lightfur, Burrtail, Leafeye, Risingpaw, Crestpaw, Rowanpaw, and Laurelpaw, will be coming to the gathering tonight. Apprentices, rest for today, and warriors, please see Squirrelfur for patrols."Barkstar finished his announcement and leapt down from highbranch. The warriors gathered around Squirrelfur for the assignments for the day, including Barkstar. Now that Dewtail and Mouseclaw were sick, he had started going on more patrols with his warriors. Laurelpaw padded over to the apprentice's den, where the apprentices were lounging about in the weak morning sun.

"Hey Risingpaw and Rowanpaw, do you want to have a mock battle?" Risingpaw and Rowanpaw looked up sharply.

"That sounds like a great idea!" Risingpaw mewed, his black and orange fur starting to fluff up in excitement.

"We should invite Jaypaw and Crestpaw too, so that we could make teams." Rowanpaw suggested. "One apprentice would take a turn sitting out so that the teams would be even." Jaypaw padded up.

"That sounds like a good idea. Let's see if we can get a warrior to supervise us at the sandy hollow."He mewed, before padding off towards the knot of warriors. He came back with Burrtail in tow.

"So you want to have a mock battle? Sounds like fun to me. Let's go to the sandy hollow." The apprentices obediently got up and padded after the warrior. They took their time leisurely moving towards the hollow, and once they got there, the apprentices clustered around Burrtail.

"Claws will remain sheathed; this is a training bout, not a real battle. There will be teams of two, and the remaining apprentice will sit beside me. There will be no use of teeth, and if there is, it must be gentle. You may not use the paw clap move, there will be no buckling of any legs here, or else you won't be going to the gathering." The apprentices nodded eagerly, excited to get on with the session. The goal is for each team to reach me and the apprentice sitting with me first. You may trip, attack, and take down your opponents. If you end up in a tangle, I'll let you wrestle around for a while, and then I'll call it off. First team is Laurelpaw and Jaypaw, and the second team is Rowanpaw and Risingpaw." Burrtail and Crestpaw went over to the far side of the clearing. He called out from the other side

"Each team start on the opposite corner." Laurelpaw padded beside Jaypaw, feeling her pelt get hot, with...embarrassment? Laurelpaw couldn't tell. Jaypaw was peeking at her out of the corner of his eye, so Laurelpaw glanced away. Once each team had reached the far corner, Burrtail shouted out a command for them to start, so Laurelpaw and Jaypaw took off running towards Burrtail. Rowanpaw and Risingpaw were doing the same thing, but Risingpaw pulled ahead of Rowanpaw and made straight for Jaypaw, who was ahead of Laurelpaw. She moved her legs faster, and pulled ahead of Jaypaw just as he was shoved down into the sand by Risingpaw. The two tomcats started rolling in the sand. Laurelpaw was starting to get closer to Rowanpaw. He noticed this too, and made straight towards her. Laurelpaw waited until Rowanpaw was aiming to attack where she would be, then skidded to a stop. Rowanpaw went flying in front of her, and landed heavily on the sand. Kicking up her legs again, Laurelpaw put on a burst of speed and slid to a stop in front of Burrtail and Crestpaw.

"Stop!" Burrtail yowled out. Jaypaw and Risingpaw froze, sand streaming off of their pelts. Something flashed in Jaypaw's eyes, and he moved off of Risingpaw and padded over to Laurelpaw.

"Good job." He murmured in Laurelpaw's ear before giving her head a quick lick. Laurelpaw felt Rowanpaw's eyes burning into her back.

"Crestpaw, take Laurelpaw's place, and start again." Both teams went back to their corners, and Burrtail gave them a few moments to discuss strategies before calling out to start again. Both teams of cats streaked towards each other, but before they collided, Jaypaw gave a powerful leap, and made it over Rowanpaw's and Risingpaw's head, and hit the ground running straight towards Laurelpaw. The three wrestling cats detached themselves and made a mad dash to Jaypaw, but it was too late. Jaypaw skidded to a stop in front of Laurelpaw, so close that their whiskers brushed. He had a huge grin on his face, and his brown eyes gleamed with something Laurelpaw couldn't identify.

"Laurelpaw, take Rowanpaw's place, Rowanpaw, go onto Crestpaw's team." Burrtail mewed when the three apprentices padded up to him. Laurelpaw padded over to Risingpaw's corner.

"I think you're the fastest runner. Let's both run towards Burrtail and Jaypaw, but you'll stay behind me. That way, they'll target me instead of you. When they get close enough, I'll try to run into both of them, leaving you clear to get to Burrtail." Laurelpaw shook her head.

"That isn't fair, I've already had some time to rest. I'll take the lead, all you have to do is keep up." Laurelpaw gave him a reassuring smile before Burrtail yowled out to start. Laurelpaw dug her paws into the sand, and started running towards Burrtail and Jaypaw. She glanced over her shoulder to see that Risingpaw was keeping up with her. As she neared Crestpaw and Rowanpaw, Laurelpaw aimed for a spot where she could crash into Rowanpaw and have Crestpaw crash into them. She waited for a moment, and then threw herself into Rowanpaw. He let out a yowl and lurched to the side, skidding on the sand. Crestpaw leapt over Laurelpaw's hindquarters, and tore after Risingpaw. Laurelpaw pulled herself to her paws, and then launched herself at Rowanpaw. He rose up on his hind legs, balancing, before dropping on top of Laurelpaw, squishing her into the sand before she had time to change her course. Laurelpaw squirmed around for a few moments before falling still and closing her eyes.

"Laurelpaw? Laurelpaw?" Rowanpaw asked, standing up off of her. Laurelpaw shot up, throwing Rowanpaw backwards onto the sand. She ran towards Crestpaw and Risingpaw, who were wrestling in the sand a few tail-lengths before Burrtail and Jaypaw. Laurelpaw leapt onto Crestpaw's back, her momentum causing Crestpaw to fall onto her side. Risingpaw hauled himself to his paws and ran the little distance to Burrtail and Jaypaw. Crestpaw had already pinned Laurelpaw to the sand before Burrtail shouted out for them to stop and to come over to him.

"It's time we're going to be heading back to camp. You all did a great job fighting. You all should be proud of yourself. Laurelpaw, for your great speed, Jaypaw, for your powerful hind legs, Crestpaw, for your amazing fighting skills, Rowanpaw for a quick recovery, and Risingpaw for intelligent and creative strategy. Let's hunt in the swamp for a little while, then you can have first pick of the fresh-kill pile." Burrtail was beaming with happiness. Laurelpaw felt a grin start to stretch across her face, and when she looked over at Jaypaw, a grin stretched across his face and his eyes were lit up with joy.


	20. Chapter 16

Chapter 16

SwampClan had been the first cats to arrive at the gathering. The clearing looked so empty, Laurelpaw decided, without the two other clans there. Risingpaw padded over to her.

"I wonder what it will look like when all four, I mean three, clans arrive." He mused.

"The whole clearing is filled with cats, it's really amazing to see how many cats live around here in the clans, and even they don't bring all of their warriors!" Laurelpaw mewed. The cold, dank stink of StoneClan washed over her nose. She turned and saw the silvery warriors flowing into the clearing. Laurelpaw recognized the grey tom with blue eyes to be Shalestar, the leader of StoneClan. He was standing next to his deputy, a small black and white she-cat. Laurelpaw pointed them out to Risingpaw.

"That's Shalestar, the leader of StoneClan. Lightfur mentioned him a few times. I can't remember what his deputy is named, but it's black something. Hey look, it's the apprentices." A brown tom and a brown tabby tom with black paws had caught Laurelpaw's eye. She weaved through the mingling warriors to say hello. The brown tabby looked up first.

"Hey, you're one of the apprentices that was here at the last gathering! I'm Branchpaw, and this is my brother Thornpaw." Thornpaw looked up when he heard his name mentioned. Glancing at Risingpaw, he mewed,

"Who's this? I haven't seen him around before." Risingpaw stepped forwards.

"I'm Risingpaw." He said simply. Jaypaw hurried over to Laurelpaw, with Rowanpaw in tow. He settled down to Laurelpaw, and Rowanpaw sat on her other side.

"So how long does it take for you to become a warrior in your clan?" Branchpaw asked.

"It takes about four moons, but if you fight really well in a battle or warn the clan of a battle, then if you're almost ten moons, you can become a warrior early." Jaypaw mewed, and then glanced at Laurelpaw. She turned away from his gaze, and looked around the clearing. She saw another group of cats start to emerge from the bushes.

"Hey, ForrestClan is here." Laurelpaw mewed. The SwampClan apprentices' fur began to bristle.

"What's the matter with you?" Branchpaw asked. Rowanpaw looked over at him.

"ForrestClan led an attack on our territory. A apprentice died." Thornpaw looked up sharply, and then hurried towards the ForrestClan cats. A few moments later he returned with Acornpaw and Longpaw behind him. When Longpaw noticed Laurelpaw, his fur bristled, and he leapt at Laurelpaw, yowling

"You killed my sister!"Laurelpaw didn't try to fight back. This was one thing she couldn't defend herself from. Longpaw knocked Laurelpaw over, and started to scratch his claws against the side of Laurelpaw's brown pelt. She let out a whimper of pain, but did nothing. Rowanpaw and Jaypaw tried to leap into the fight, but were held back by two StoneClan warriors. A ForrestClan warrior came and pulled Longpaw off of Laurelpaw. His forepaws were still churning, clumps of Laurelpaw's fur caught in his blood-stained claws. The ForrestClan warrior dumped Longpaw on the ground, and held him there with a paw, despite his struggles.

"Longpaw! Shame on you! You're an apprentice of ForrestClan, you do not attack other apprentices from any other Clan during a gathering, no matter what they've done." The orange tabby she-cat's fur was bristling. Laurelpaw guessed that she was Longpaw's mentor. She grabbed Longpaw by his scruff and then started to drag him towards the leaders who were rapidly approaching them through the knot of cats that surrounded the apprentices. The two StoneClan warriors released Jaypaw and Rowanpaw, who rushed over to Laurelpaw. Shalestar hurried over to his warriors.

"Iceeye, Ashtree, what happened?" The white tabby stepped forwards, light blue eyes calm.

"The ForrestClan apprentice attacked the SwampClan apprentice. The two apprentices we grabbed before they could join the fight with their clanmate." Shalestar ducked his head. The ForrestClan leader was a brown spotted tabby with spiky fur. The orange tabby she-cat dropped Longpaw before her. The leader's brown eyes were blazing with anger and embarrassment.

"Longpaw. You will go back to our territory right now with Tornwhisker. I will decide your punishment for attacking another cat at a gathering once we return. You will wait for us in the center of the clearing until we return. Tornwhisker, watch him well." The orange she-cat named Tornwhisker bent her head, then replied,

"Yes Thicketstar."She turned to Longpaw, who got up and slunk ahead of Tornwhisker into the crowd of cats. Streampaw and Echowhisper were helping Laurelpaw sit up, examining the scratches and bites along her side. Barkstar padded up to the injured apprentice.

"What happened?" He asked. Laurelpaw swiveled her head towards him, then replied,

"Thornpaw led the ForrestClan apprentices towards us, and when Longpaw saw me, he shouted out 'you killed my sister' then leapt at me." Laurelpaw glanced down towards her side. "I deserved it anyways."Leafeye shouldered her way through the crowd.

"Laurelpaw? Are you ok?" She bounded over to Laurelpaw and started covering her in licks.

"Leafeye, stop! I'm not a kit anymore!" Laurelpaw pleaded to her mother. The leaders discussed something between them for a few moments, and then went back to shimmering stone, which they climbed up. Shalestar yowled to get the attention of the warriors below.

"Eagleflight and Darkwater have died of poisoned prey. Thankfully no other cat has gotten sick from this poisoned prey, but ForrestClan should be careful about voles from the mountains. Also, Auroafur has moved into the nursery, and is due to kit soon." Thicketstar stepped forwards next.

"We also have two deaths to report. Shadowpaw died in a battle with SwampClan and Greymist died of a cough. Prey is running well."She stepped back, leaving room for Barkstar to stand in front of the warriors.

"Apart from defending our borders from ForrestClan" Barkstar growled, causing an answering growl start to rumble from Thicketstar's throat "There is only to report the death of Silentstep" He paused for a moment as sad mews echoed around the clearing, then continued "And the making of a new apprentice, Risingpaw." All of the cat's heads turned to stare at Risingpaw. He was surveying the shimmering stone calmly, not bothered by all the cats looking at him. "Also, Ivyleaf has moved to the nursery, expecting kits, and Squirrelfur has assumed her position as deputy for the time being. That is all." Barkstar leapt down to the carpet of grasses below, and the warriors started to split into their respective Clans. Laurelpaw pulled herself to her paws, side and shoulders burning with Longpaw's claw marks.

"Are you sure you'll be able to make it back to camp? We could arrange for a warrior to carry you." Laurelpaw shook her head. Jaypaw appeared to one side, and Rowanpaw to her other. Jaypaw looked at Laurelpaw, and mewed

"I'll help you home. Lean on me. We'll make it."


	21. Chapter 17

Chapter 17

Once the group from the gathering had come back, Echowhisper shooed Laurelpaw into her nest, then fetched some pulp made of herbs, which she rubbed into the scratches and bites that Longpaw had left. Laurelpaw fell asleep to Jaypaw grooming her fur. When she awoke in the morning, the first thing she heard was a yowl of pain. Laurelpaw's head shot up, and she was on her paws in a flash, her side and shoulder burning. Crestpaw's fur was bristling, while Jaypaw had raised his head sleepily. Laurelpaw saw Echowhisper and Streampaw hurrying back and forth between the medicine cat's den and the nursery, so Laurelpaw assumed that Ivyleaf was having her kits. The apprentices were told to meet their mentors in the sandy training hollow. Once the group of apprentices had reached the sandy training hollow, Barkstar gathered them around him.

"We're going to send you off to hunt today. Try to catch as much prey as you can. Each mentor will be watching an apprentice that is not their own, to help evaluate each apprentices strengths and weaknesses. Remember, we will be watching." Barkstar gave a nod to the warriors, who turned and padded away into the trees. The apprentices stared at each other for a moment. Crestpaw turned and padded away into the bushes, heading towards the beach. Laurelpaw thought that would be a good decision, the grey pebbles of the beach would disguise her from the prey-sand pipers and seagulls. Laurelpaw turned her thoughts to where her pelt would bend in the best. She settled on the rabbit warrens, and turned towards them, padding confidently through the swamp, pausing on occasion to scent the air. She reached the edge of the trees, and a gust of icy air buffeted her fur. Fluffing up her fur against the cold air, Laurelpaw headed off towards the warrens. As she reached the top of a rise, she saw the warrens, grey stones contrasting sharply against the waving brown grasses. Laurelpaw flattened herself to the ground, and pulled herself towards the stones. Fresh rabbit scent marked an opening underneath one of the rocks, and Laurelpaw slunk to an area just above the opening, careful to hide just outside of the grasses, and not on the stone.

Laurelpaw was just about to give up on waiting for the rabbit when she caught a fresher scent of rabbit, then saw the animal start to poke its nose out of the den. Laurelpaw pricked her ears excitedly. It bounced out of its den. Laurelpaw leapt, and landed just behind the rabbit. It started to bound towards her before realizing that she was there, and Laurelpaw held it down and killed it with a quick nip to the neck. She bent down, grabbing the rabbits' scruff, and dragged it into a space underneath the rock. The ground was too cold to bury it, so she tore a few grasses up from the ground and laid them over the rabbit. Laurelpaw spent the rest of the afternoon trying to find more prey, but to no luck. As Laurelpaw was sniffing around a stream bank, a few pebbles clattered, and Barkstar padded down the slope.

"It's time we should be heading back to camp. Let's get your rabbit Laurelpaw, and good idea of hiding it with the grasses, I'm sure no birds took it." Laurelpaw nodded her head, and replied with a,

"Yes Barkstar." Before bounding ahead, racing towards the rabbit warrens. Barkstar's paw steps thudded behind her, and she eagerly ran up to where she had hidden the rabbit, and pawed off the grasses covering it. She picked it up, and with her head bent, Laurelpaw and Barkstar went back to camp.

When Laurelpaw and Barkstar came through the tunnel, they were greeted by a well-stocked fresh-kill pile. The apprentices were gathered around it, discussing their catches.

"Did you see the seagull Crestpaw caught? It's bigger than she is!" Rowanpaw told Laurelpaw as she and Barkstar approached. Laurelpaw peered around Rowanpaw, and she saw two seagulls lying in the fresh-kill pile, one defiantly bigger than any of the apprentices. Jaypaw approached Laurelpaw as she dropped her rabbit onto the fresh-kill pile.

"Did you see Ivyleaf's kits yet? She has four kits, one is— " Laurelpaw interrupted him,

"Don't tell me! Let me see them for myself!" She hurried off towards the nursery. As she poked her head through, she saw Ivyleaf lying on her side, with Dusktail grooming her fur. Four tiny kits were snuggled against Ivyleaf's side, asleep. Ivyleaf raised her head as she caught Laurelpaw's scent. She gave a tired smile, and then asked if Laurelpaw would like to know their names. Laurelpaw nodded her head excitedly. Dusktail pointed out the first kit, a brown tabby with black stripes.

"This tom is named Rushkit, the grey tabby tom with white paws is Stormkit, the grey tabby she-kit with brown stripes is Brackenkit, and the other grey tabby tom with white markings is Sootkit."Laurelpaw peered at the tiny bundles of fur, wondering when she would be made a warrior, and if any of these tiny kits would become her apprentice. Laurelpaw complimented each one of the kits, pointing out some sort of marking that she liked, before leaving the nursery. Laurelpaw liked Brackenkit the best, with her odd brown stripes that almost looked like bands on a raccoon's tail. Laurelpaw thought that they would have named Brackenkit Raccoonkit if her stripes were black. The kits were still on her mind as she shared the small seagull with Rowanpaw and Jaypaw and as she settled down into her nest, she wondered if she would have kits when she got older. Her dreams that night were filled with queens and kits playing in the nursery and clearing, and proud fathers being ambushed by their little charges.


End file.
